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KUBTY vs. DE: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Manufacturing - Farm Equipment sector might want to consider either Kubota Corp. (KUBTY - Free Report) or Deere (DE - 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.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Kubota Corp. and Deere are both sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

KUBTY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.61, while DE has a forward P/E of 28.34. We also note that KUBTY has a PEG ratio of 1.06. 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. DE currently has a PEG ratio of 1.88.

Another notable valuation metric for KUBTY is its P/B ratio of 0.97. 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, DE has a P/B of 6.39.

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

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

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