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ACM vs. ALFVY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Engineering - R and D Services sector might want to consider either Aecom Technology (ACM - Free Report) or Alfa Laval AB Unsponsored ADR (ALFVY - 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, Aecom Technology is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Alfa Laval AB Unsponsored ADR has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that ACM is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks 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.

ACM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.69, while ALFVY has a forward P/E of 23.98. We also note that ACM has a PEG ratio of 0.86. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. ALFVY currently has a PEG ratio of 3.24.

Another notable valuation metric for ACM is its P/B ratio of 3.7. 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, ALFVY has a P/B of 5.32.

These metrics, and several others, help ACM earn a Value grade of A, while ALFVY has been given a Value grade of D.

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

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