Investors with an interest in Engineering - R and D Services stocks have likely encountered both Babcock International Group PLC (BCKIY) and Howmet (HWM). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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 is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Babcock International Group PLC has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Howmet has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that BCKIY has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

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.

BCKIY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.05, while HWM has a forward P/E of 33.14. We also note that BCKIY has a PEG ratio of 0.27. 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. HWM currently has a PEG ratio of 1.44.

Another notable valuation metric for BCKIY is its P/B ratio of 7.10. 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, HWM has a P/B of 8.02.

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

BCKIY is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that BCKIY is likely the superior value option right now.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Babcock International Group PLC (BCKIY):Free Stock Analysis Report



Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM):Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research