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MARUY or ITT: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Diversified Operations stocks have likely encountered both Marubeni Corp. (MARUY - Free Report) and ITT (ITT - 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.

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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Marubeni Corp. is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while ITT has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that MARUY has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

MARUY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 4.91, while ITT has a forward P/E of 24.64. We also note that MARUY has a PEG ratio of 0.42. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. ITT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.65.

Another notable valuation metric for MARUY is its P/B ratio of 0.82. 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, ITT has a P/B of 4.02.

Based on these metrics and many more, MARUY holds a Value grade of A, while ITT has a Value grade of D.

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


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