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FELE vs. ABBNY: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Manufacturing - Electronics stocks have likely encountered both Franklin Electric (FELE - Free Report) and ABB (ABBNY - 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Franklin Electric has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while ABB has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that FELE has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

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.

FELE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 22.65, while ABBNY has a forward P/E of 28.57. We also note that FELE has a PEG ratio of 1.89. 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. ABBNY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.24.

Another notable valuation metric for FELE is its P/B ratio of 3.29. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ABBNY has a P/B of 8.96.

These metrics, and several others, help FELE earn a Value grade of B, while ABBNY has been given a Value grade of C.

FELE has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than ABBNY, so it seems like value investors will conclude that FELE is the superior option right now.


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