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AIMC vs. B: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Manufacturing - General Industrial stocks are likely familiar with Altra Industrial Motion and Barnes Group (B - 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.

Altra Industrial Motion has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Barnes Group has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) right now. This means that AIMC's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. 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.

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.

AIMC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.84, while B has a forward P/E of 25.23. We also note that AIMC has a PEG ratio of 1.32. 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. B currently has a PEG ratio of 2.52.

Another notable valuation metric for AIMC is its P/B ratio of 1.34. 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, B has a P/B of 1.79.

Based on these metrics and many more, AIMC holds a Value grade of B, while B has a Value grade of C.

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


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