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FLEX or HOCPY: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Electronics - Miscellaneous Products sector have probably already heard of Flex (FLEX - Free Report) and Hoya Corp. (HOCPY - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Flex has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Hoya Corp. has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. This means that FLEX's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

FLEX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.46, while HOCPY has a forward P/E of 34.11. We also note that FLEX has a PEG ratio of 2.24. 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. HOCPY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.41.

Another notable valuation metric for FLEX is its P/B ratio of 3.30. 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, HOCPY has a P/B of 6.77.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to FLEX's Value grade of A and HOCPY's Value grade of F.

FLEX stands above HOCPY thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that FLEX is the superior value option right now.


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