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ITRI vs. AME: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Electronics - Testing Equipment sector might want to consider either Itron (ITRI - Free Report) or Ametek (AME - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Currently, Itron has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Ametek has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ITRI likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than AME has recently. 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.

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.

ITRI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 23.25, while AME has a forward P/E of 26.45. We also note that ITRI has a PEG ratio of 0.93. 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. AME currently has a PEG ratio of 2.94.

Another notable valuation metric for ITRI is its P/B ratio of 3.79. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, AME has a P/B of 4.36.

Based on these metrics and many more, ITRI holds a Value grade of B, while AME has a Value grade of D.

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


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