CIB vs. ITT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors looking for stocks in the Diversified Operations sector might want to consider either Grupo Cibest (CIB) or ITT (ITT). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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.

Currently, Grupo Cibest has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while ITT has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that CIB's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

CIB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.08, while ITT has a forward P/E of 25.41. We also note that CIB has a PEG ratio of 0.75. 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. ITT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.71.

Another notable valuation metric for CIB is its P/B ratio of 1.98. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, ITT has a P/B of 3.87.

These metrics, and several others, help CIB earn a Value grade of B, while ITT has been given a Value grade of D.

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

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

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