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POWL or ETN: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Manufacturing - Electronics sector have probably already heard of Powell Industries (POWL - Free Report) and Eaton (ETN - 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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Right now, Powell Industries is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Eaton has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that POWL has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

POWL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 20.22, while ETN has a forward P/E of 30.26. We also note that POWL has a PEG ratio of 1.44. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. ETN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.61.

Another notable valuation metric for POWL is its P/B ratio of 5.9. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, ETN has a P/B of 7.63.

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

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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