Investors looking for stocks in the Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery sector might want to consider either MKS Instruments (MKSI) or Entegris (ENTG). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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.

MKS Instruments has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Entegris has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that MKSI likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ENTG has recently. 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.

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.

MKSI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 20.29, while ENTG has a forward P/E of 34.65. We also note that MKSI has a PEG ratio of 0.80. 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 1.71.

Another notable valuation metric for MKSI is its P/B ratio of 3.26. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ENTG has a P/B of 4.41.

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

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

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