FLS vs. NDSN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
Investors with an interest in Manufacturing - General Industrial stocks have likely encountered both Flowserve (FLS) and Nordson (NDSN). 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, Flowserve is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Nordson has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that FLS likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than NDSN has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.
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.
FLS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.42, while NDSN has a forward P/E of 26.06. We also note that FLS has a PEG ratio of 1.08. 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. NDSN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.
Another notable valuation metric for FLS is its P/B ratio of 2.96. 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, NDSN has a P/B of 4.99.
Based on these metrics and many more, FLS holds a Value grade of B, while NDSN has a Value grade of D.
FLS sticks out from NDSN in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that FLS is the better option right now.
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Flowserve Corporation (FLS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Nordson Corporation (NDSN) : Free Stock Analysis Report