Investors interested in stocks from the Manufacturing - General Industrial sector have probably already heard of Standex International (SXI) and Idex (IEX). 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.

Standex International and Idex are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

SXI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.33, while IEX has a forward P/E of 24.58. We also note that SXI has a PEG ratio of 1.17. 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. IEX currently has a PEG ratio of 2.05.

Another notable valuation metric for SXI is its P/B ratio of 2.24. 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, IEX has a P/B of 4.96.

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

Both SXI and IEX are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that SXI is the superior value option right now.

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