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LDOS or LMT: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Aerospace - Defense sector might want to consider either Leidos (LDOS - Free Report) or Lockheed Martin (LMT - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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, Leidos has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Lockheed Martin 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 LDOS has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

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.

LDOS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.37, while LMT has a forward P/E of 21.52. We also note that LDOS has a PEG ratio of 1.39. 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. LMT currently has a PEG ratio of 4.60.

Another notable valuation metric for LDOS is its P/B ratio of 4.64. 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, LMT has a P/B of 22.

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

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


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