Yahoo Finance BCKIY vs. ALTR: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
Investors interested in stocks from the Engineering - R and D Services sector have probably already heard of Babcock International Group PLC (BCKIY) and Altair Engineering (ALTR). 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, Babcock International Group PLC has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Altair Engineering has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that BCKIY has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.
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 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.
BCKIY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.19, while ALTR has a forward P/E of 67.52. We also note that BCKIY has a PEG ratio of 0.34. 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. ALTR currently has a PEG ratio of 5.63.
Another notable valuation metric for BCKIY is its P/B ratio of 7.09. 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, ALTR has a P/B of 9.31.
These metrics, and several others, help BCKIY earn a Value grade of B, while ALTR has been given a Value grade of F.
BCKIY 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 BCKIY is likely the superior value option right now.
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Babcock International Group PLC (BCKIY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Altair Engineering Inc. (ALTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
