UMC vs. LSCC: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Investors with an interest in Electronics - Semiconductors stocks have likely encountered both United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) and Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC). But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, United Microelectronics Corporation has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Lattice Semiconductor 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 UMC has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks 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.

UMC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.92, while LSCC has a forward P/E of 68.59. We also note that UMC has a PEG ratio of 0.82. 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. LSCC currently has a PEG ratio of 6.86.

Another notable valuation metric for UMC is its P/B ratio of 3.28. 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, LSCC has a P/B of 22.27.

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

UMC stands above LSCC thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that UMC is the superior value option right now.

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