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FLS or IR: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Manufacturing - General Industrial sector might want to consider either Flowserve (FLS - Free Report) or Ingersoll Rand (IR - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, both Flowserve and Ingersoll Rand are holding a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

FLS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.04, while IR has a forward P/E of 28.97. We also note that FLS has a PEG ratio of 1.24. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. IR currently has a PEG ratio of 3.13.

Another notable valuation metric for FLS is its P/B ratio of 3.12. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, IR has a P/B of 3.82.

These metrics, and several others, help FLS earn a Value grade of B, while IR has been given a Value grade of D.

Both FLS and IR are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that FLS is the superior value option right now.


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