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BAESY or HEI: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Aerospace - Defense Equipment sector might want to consider either Bae Systems PLC (BAESY - Free Report) or Heico Corporation (HEI - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Currently, both Bae Systems PLC and Heico Corporation are holding a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). 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 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.

BAESY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.88, while HEI has a forward P/E of 63.55. We also note that BAESY has a PEG ratio of 1.59. 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. HEI currently has a PEG ratio of 3.32.

Another notable valuation metric for BAESY is its P/B ratio of 3.71. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, HEI has a P/B of 9.13.

These metrics, and several others, help BAESY earn a Value grade of B, while HEI has been given a Value grade of D.

Both BAESY and HEI are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that BAESY is the superior value option right now.


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