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AIMC or IR: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Manufacturing - General Industrial stocks have likely encountered both Altra Industrial Motion and Ingersoll Rand (IR - 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.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Altra Industrial Motion and Ingersoll Rand are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

AIMC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.03, while IR has a forward P/E of 26.58. We also note that AIMC has a PEG ratio of 1.07. 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. IR currently has a PEG ratio of 3.35.

Another notable valuation metric for AIMC is its P/B ratio of 1.10. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, IR has a P/B of 1.33.

These metrics, and several others, help AIMC earn a Value grade of A, while IR has been given a Value grade of D.

Both AIMC and IR are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that AIMC is the superior value option right now.


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