CTVA vs. AVO: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Investors with an interest in Agriculture - Operations stocks have likely encountered both Corteva, Inc. (CTVA) and Mission Produce, Inc. (AVO). 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.

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.

Corteva, Inc. and Mission Produce, Inc. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. This means that CTVA's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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 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.

CTVA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 23.72, while AVO has a forward P/E of 32.23. We also note that CTVA has a PEG ratio of 1.56. 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. AVO currently has a PEG ratio of 4.78.

Another notable valuation metric for CTVA is its P/B ratio of 1.70. 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, AVO has a P/B of 1.94.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to CTVA's Value grade of B and AVO's Value grade of C.

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

FREE Report: The Metaverse is Exploding! Don’t You Want to Cash In?

Rising gas prices. The war in Ukraine. America's recession. Inflation. It's no wonder why the metaverse is so popular and growing every day. Becoming Spider Man and fighting Darth Vader is infinitely more appealing than spending over $5 per gallon at the pump. And that appeal is why the metaverse can provide such massive gains for investors. But do you know where to look? Do you know which metaverse stocks to buy and which to avoid? In a new FREE report from Zacks' leading stock specialist, we reveal how you could profit from the internet’s next evolution. Even though the popularity of the metaverse is spreading like wildfire, investors like you can still get in on the ground floor and cash in. Don't miss your chance to get your piece of this innovative $30 trillion opportunity - FREE.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.