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BAESY or HEI: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Aerospace - Defense Equipment sector might want to consider either Bae Systems PLC (BAESY - Free Report) or Heico Corporation (HEI - 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.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Bae Systems PLC and Heico Corporation are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. 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 Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

BAESY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.18, while HEI has a forward P/E of 59.57. We also note that BAESY has a PEG ratio of 1.54. 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. HEI currently has a PEG ratio of 3.07.

Another notable valuation metric for BAESY is its P/B ratio of 3.79. 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, HEI has a P/B of 9.75.

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

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


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