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ITRI or AME: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Electronics - Testing Equipment sector have probably already heard of Itron (ITRI - Free Report) and Ametek (AME - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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.

Itron has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Ametek has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that ITRI is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

ITRI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.25, while AME has a forward P/E of 23.16. We also note that ITRI has a PEG ratio of 0.82. 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. AME currently has a PEG ratio of 2.57.

Another notable valuation metric for ITRI is its P/B ratio of 3.39. 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, AME has a P/B of 3.92.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ITRI's Value grade of B and AME's Value grade of D.

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


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