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LXFR vs. CR: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
Investors looking for stocks in the Manufacturing - General Industrial sector might want to consider either Luxfer (LXFR - Free Report) or Crane (CR - 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.
There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.
Luxfer and Crane 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 just one piece of the puzzle 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.
The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.
LXFR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.11, while CR has a forward P/E of 28.80. We also note that LXFR has a PEG ratio of 2.02. 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. CR currently has a PEG ratio of 2.28.
Another notable valuation metric for LXFR is its P/B ratio of 1.54. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, CR has a P/B of 5.83.
Based on these metrics and many more, LXFR holds a Value grade of B, while CR has a Value grade of D.
Both LXFR and CR are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that LXFR is the superior value option right now.