Investors interested in stocks from the Agriculture - Operations sector have probably already heard of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Limoneira (LMNR). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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.

Archer Daniels Midland has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Limoneira has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that ADM is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

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.

ADM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.56, while LMNR has a forward P/E of 371.79. We also note that ADM has a PEG ratio of 1.53. 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. LMNR currently has a PEG ratio of 24.79.

Another notable valuation metric for ADM is its P/B ratio of 1.54. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, LMNR has a P/B of 1.62.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ADM's Value grade of B and LMNR's Value grade of D.

ADM 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 ADM is likely the superior value option right now.

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Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Limoneira Co (LMNR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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