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SON vs. ATR: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Containers - Paper and Packaging stocks are likely familiar with Sonoco (SON - Free Report) and AptarGroup (ATR - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Sonoco has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while AptarGroup has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that SON has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

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.

SON currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.26, while ATR has a forward P/E of 28.55. We also note that SON has a PEG ratio of 2.65. 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. ATR currently has a PEG ratio of 4.08.

Another notable valuation metric for SON is its P/B ratio of 3.28. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ATR has a P/B of 3.90.

Based on these metrics and many more, SON holds a Value grade of B, while ATR has a Value grade of C.

SON sticks out from ATR in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that SON is the better option right now.


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Sonoco Products Company (SON) - free report >>

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