FLEX vs. TRMB: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Investors interested in stocks from the Electronics - Miscellaneous Products sector have probably already heard of Flex (FLEX) and Trimble Navigation (TRMB). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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, Flex is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Trimble Navigation has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that FLEX is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.

FLEX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.13, while TRMB has a forward P/E of 36.31. We also note that FLEX has a PEG ratio of 0.85. 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. TRMB currently has a PEG ratio of 3.63.

Another notable valuation metric for FLEX is its P/B ratio of 2.56. 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, TRMB has a P/B of 6.14.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to FLEX's Value grade of B and TRMB's Value grade of D.

FLEX sticks out from TRMB in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that FLEX is the better option right now.

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Flex Ltd. (FLEX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Trimble Inc. (TRMB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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