MKSI or ENTG: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors with an interest in Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery stocks have likely encountered both MKS Instruments MKSI and Entegris ENTG. But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, MKS Instruments is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Entegris has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). This means that MKSI's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

MKSI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.41, while ENTG has a forward P/E of 32.14. We also note that MKSI has a PEG ratio of 1.10. 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. ENTG currently has a PEG ratio of 1.36.

Another notable valuation metric for MKSI is its P/B ratio of 2.95. 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, ENTG has a P/B of 4.40.

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

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

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