Investors with an interest in Manufacturing - General Industrial stocks have likely encountered both Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT Quick QuoteAIT - Free Report) and Parker-Hannifin (PH Quick QuotePH - 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.

Right now, Applied Industrial Technologies is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Parker-Hannifin has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that AIT's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.

AIT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.16, while PH has a forward P/E of 13.30. We also note that AIT has a PEG ratio of 1.01. 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. PH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.18.

Another notable valuation metric for AIT is its P/B ratio of 2.60. 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, PH has a P/B of 3.35.

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

AIT stands above PH thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that AIT is the superior value option right now.