PTVE or ATR: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors looking for stocks in the Containers - Paper and Packaging sector might want to consider either Pactiv Evergreen Inc. (PTVE) or AptarGroup (ATR). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Pactiv Evergreen Inc. and AptarGroup are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that PTVE has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

PTVE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.82, while ATR has a forward P/E of 32.61. We also note that PTVE has a PEG ratio of 1.31. 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. ATR currently has a PEG ratio of 3.02.

Another notable valuation metric for PTVE is its P/B ratio of 2. 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, ATR has a P/B of 4.57.

Based on these metrics and many more, PTVE holds a Value grade of A, while ATR has a Value grade of D.

PTVE 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 PTVE is likely the superior value option right now.

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