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STRL or HWM: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Engineering - R and D Services stocks have likely encountered both Sterling Infrastructure (STRL - Free Report) and Howmet (HWM - 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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Sterling Infrastructure has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Howmet 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 STRL 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.

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.

STRL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.41, while HWM has a forward P/E of 23.50. We also note that STRL has a PEG ratio of 0.58. 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 0.98.

Another notable valuation metric for STRL is its P/B ratio of 2.48. 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, HWM has a P/B of 5.20.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to STRL's Value grade of A and HWM's Value grade of D.

STRL stands above HWM thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that STRL is the superior value option right now.


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Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL) - free report >>

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