Yahoo Finance MPTI vs. HWM: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
Investors interested in Engineering - R and D Services stocks are likely familiar with M-tron Industries, Inc. (MPTI) and Howmet (HWM). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.
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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.
M-tron Industries, Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Howmet has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that MPTI has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.
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 Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.
MPTI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.40, while HWM has a forward P/E of 25.63. We also note that MPTI has a PEG ratio of 0.61. 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. HWM currently has a PEG ratio of 1.07.
Another notable valuation metric for MPTI is its P/B ratio of 1.96. 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, HWM has a P/B of 4.91.
Based on these metrics and many more, MPTI holds a Value grade of B, while HWM has a Value grade of D.
MPTI is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that MPTI is likely the superior value option right now.
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M-tron Industries, Inc. (MPTI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
