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TKR or TRS: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Metal Products - Procurement and Fabrication stocks are likely familiar with Timken (TKR - Free Report) and TriMas (TRS - 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.

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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, both Timken and TriMas are holding a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

TKR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.72, while TRS has a forward P/E of 17.02. We also note that TKR has a PEG ratio of 0.65. 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. TRS currently has a PEG ratio of 3.40.

Another notable valuation metric for TKR is its P/B ratio of 1.90. 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, TRS has a P/B of 2.22.

These metrics, and several others, help TKR earn a Value grade of A, while TRS has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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Timken Company (The) (TKR) - free report >>

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