HAYW vs. HOCPY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors looking for stocks in the Electronics - Miscellaneous Products sector might want to consider either Hayward Holdings, Inc. (HAYW) or Hoya Corp. (HOCPY). 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.

Hayward Holdings, Inc. and Hoya Corp. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that HAYW'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 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.

HAYW currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.69, while HOCPY has a forward P/E of 35.98. We also note that HAYW has a PEG ratio of 1.34. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. HOCPY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.51.

Another notable valuation metric for HAYW is its P/B ratio of 1.82. 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, HOCPY has a P/B of 8.69.

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

HAYW has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than HOCPY, so it seems like value investors will conclude that HAYW is the superior option right now.

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Hayward Holdings, Inc. (HAYW): Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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