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POWL or ETN: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Manufacturing - Electronics sector might want to consider either Powell Industries (POWL - Free Report) or Eaton (ETN - 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.

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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Powell Industries has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Eaton has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that POWL has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

POWL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.97, while ETN has a forward P/E of 30.99. We also note that POWL has a PEG ratio of 1.28. 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. ETN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.55.

Another notable valuation metric for POWL is its P/B ratio of 5.92. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, ETN has a P/B of 6.89.

These metrics, and several others, help POWL earn a Value grade of B, while ETN has been given a Value grade of C.

POWL 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 POWL is likely the superior value option right now.


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