Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors looking for stocks in the Electronics - Miscellaneous Products sector might want to consider either Flex (FLEX - Free Report) or Teradyne (TER - 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.

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.

Both Flex and Teradyne have a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now. This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. 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 grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

FLEX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.08, while TER has a forward P/E of 27.90. We also note that FLEX has a PEG ratio of 0.36. 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. TER currently has a PEG ratio of 0.51.

Another notable valuation metric for FLEX is its P/B ratio of 5.36. 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, TER has a P/B of 11.05.

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

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

Published in