Investors interested in Manufacturing - General Industrial stocks are likely familiar with Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT Quick QuoteAIT - Free Report) and Parker-Hannifin (PH Quick QuotePH - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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.

Currently, Applied Industrial Technologies has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Parker-Hannifin has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that AIT likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than PH has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

AIT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.27, while PH has a forward P/E of 14.16. We also note that AIT has a PEG ratio of 1.11. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. PH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.26.

Another notable valuation metric for AIT is its P/B ratio of 2.83. 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, PH has a P/B of 3.56.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AIT's Value grade of B and PH's Value grade of C.

AIT 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 AIT is likely the superior value option right now.