Back to top

Image: Bigstock

CAE vs. HXL: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in Aerospace - Defense Equipment stocks are likely familiar with CAE (CAE - Free Report) and Hexcel (HXL - 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, CAE has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Hexcel has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). This means that CAE's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. 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.

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.

CAE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 33.42, while HXL has a forward P/E of 35.39. We also note that CAE has a PEG ratio of 4.18. 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. HXL currently has a PEG ratio of 6.27.

Another notable valuation metric for CAE is its P/B ratio of 2.57. 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, HXL has a P/B of 2.63.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to CAE's Value grade of B and HXL's Value grade of F.

CAE has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than HXL, so it seems like value investors will conclude that CAE is the superior option right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Hexcel Corporation (HXL) - free report >>

CAE Inc (CAE) - free report >>

Published in