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DOLE or CTVA: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Agriculture - Operations stocks are likely familiar with Dole (DOLE - Free Report) and Corteva, Inc. (CTVA - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Dole and Corteva, Inc. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that DOLE is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

DOLE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.76, while CTVA has a forward P/E of 14.75. We also note that DOLE has a PEG ratio of 0.83. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. CTVA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.13.

Another notable valuation metric for DOLE is its P/B ratio of 0.81. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, CTVA has a P/B of 1.23.

Based on these metrics and many more, DOLE holds a Value grade of B, while CTVA has a Value grade of C.

DOLE sticks out from CTVA in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that DOLE is the better option right now.


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