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21 June
POWL or ETN: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors interested in Manufacturing - Electronics stocks are likely familiar with 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.

Right now, Powell Industries is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Eaton has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). This means that POWL's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

POWL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.36, while ETN has a forward P/E of 30.61. We also note that POWL has a PEG ratio of 1.24. 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. ETN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.70.

Another notable valuation metric for POWL is its P/B ratio of 4.78. 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, ETN has a P/B of 6.69.

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

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

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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.