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POWL vs. ETN: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Manufacturing - Electronics stocks have likely encountered both Powell Industries (POWL - Free Report) and Eaton (ETN - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Powell Industries is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Eaton has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that POWL likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ETN has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

POWL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.61, while ETN has a forward P/E of 31.58. We also note that POWL has a PEG ratio of 1.33. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. ETN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.61.

Another notable valuation metric for POWL is its P/B ratio of 5.12. 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, ETN has a P/B of 6.84.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to POWL's Value grade of B and ETN's Value grade of D.

POWL is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that POWL is likely the superior value option right now.


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Eaton Corporation, PLC (ETN) - free report >>

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