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BCKIY or SPXSF: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Engineering - R and D Services sector have probably already heard of Babcock International Group PLC (BCKIY - Free Report) and SPIRAX SARCO (SPXSF - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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 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.

Currently, Babcock International Group PLC has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while SPIRAX SARCO has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that BCKIY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than SPXSF has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.

BCKIY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.43, while SPXSF has a forward P/E of 35.22. We also note that BCKIY has a PEG ratio of 2.11. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. SPXSF currently has a PEG ratio of 4.40.

Another notable valuation metric for BCKIY is its P/B ratio of 1.04. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, SPXSF has a P/B of 8.37.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to BCKIY's Value grade of A and SPXSF's Value grade of F.

BCKIY stands above SPXSF thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that BCKIY is the superior value option right now.


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Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPXSF) - free report >>

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