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ADM vs. AVO: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Agriculture - Operations stocks have likely encountered both Archer Daniels Midland (ADM - Free Report) and Mission Produce, Inc. (AVO - 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.

Currently, Archer Daniels Midland has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Mission Produce, Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that ADM is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

ADM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.49, while AVO has a forward P/E of 26.63. We also note that ADM has a PEG ratio of 1.96. 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. AVO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.36.

Another notable valuation metric for ADM is its P/B ratio of 1.87. 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, AVO has a P/B of 1.91.

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

ADM 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 ADM is likely the superior value option right now.


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Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) - free report >>

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