INGM vs. NPO: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors with an interest in Technology Services stocks have likely encountered both Ingram Micro (INGM) and Enpro (NPO). 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Ingram Micro and Enpro are both sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

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.

INGM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.22, while NPO has a forward P/E of 34.82. We also note that INGM has a PEG ratio of 0.68. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. NPO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.32.

Another notable valuation metric for INGM is its P/B ratio of 1.49. 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, NPO has a P/B of 4.43.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to INGM's Value grade of A and NPO's Value grade of D.

Both INGM and NPO are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that INGM is the superior value option right now.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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