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MARUY or ITT: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Diversified Operations stocks have likely encountered both Marubeni Corp. (MARUY - Free Report) and ITT (ITT - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 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.

Both Marubeni Corp. and ITT have a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.

MARUY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.99, while ITT has a forward P/E of 25.68. We also note that MARUY has a PEG ratio of 1.69. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. ITT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.73.

Another notable valuation metric for MARUY is its P/B ratio of 1.81. 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, ITT has a P/B of 3.94.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to MARUY's Value grade of B and ITT's Value grade of D.

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

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