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Investors with an interest in Manufacturing - Electronics stocks have likely encountered both Powell Industries (POWL) and Eaton (ETN). 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.

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

Currently, Powell Industries has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Eaton has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that POWL is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.

POWL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.95, while ETN has a forward P/E of 30.73. We also note that POWL has a PEG ratio of 1.35. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. ETN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.71.

Another notable valuation metric for POWL is its P/B ratio of 5.22. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ETN has a P/B of 6.71.

These metrics, and several others, help POWL earn a Value grade of B, while ETN has been given a Value grade of D.

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

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Eaton Corporation, PLC (ETN) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.