3 Undervalued Industrial Machinery & Equipment Stocks for Wednesday, July 31

By Eunice Kim
July 31, 2024
Diamond graphic indicating best value stocks in their industry
Featured Tickers:
LXFR MUEL NL

Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 3 stocks made the list for top value stocks in the Industrial Machinery & Equipment industry. Those looking for value stocks to add to their portfolio may want to use this list as a starting point for further investment research.

Why Focus on Undervalued Industrial Machinery & Equipment Stocks?

Value investors seek to buy stocks at a discount to their intrinsic value. Long-term returns show that such strategies are advantageous. Value stocks, as a group, tend to outperform growth stocks over extended periods of time. Typically, value investors perform financial analysis of numerous metrics, don’t follow the herd and are long-term investors.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade is derived from a stock’s Value Score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

What Goes Into AAII’s Value Grade?

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data as well as the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movement. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors with that task.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A–F grades for more than just value. It is possible for a stock to appear cheap based on one valuation metric but appear expensive on another. It is also possible for one valuation ratio to be associated with outperforming stocks during certain periods of time but not others. Some stocks may even have null values for certain metrics like the price-earnings ratio or the price-to-book ratio but not others. An example of this would be a company with losses instead of profits or a negative book value because of heavy borrowing. Negative earnings or book value result in non-meaningful ratios that are left blank or null.

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3 Undervalued Industrial Machinery & Equipment Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 3 undervalued stocks in the Industrial Machinery & Equipment industry for Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the Industrial Machinery & Equipment industry median.

Company Ticker Price/Sales Price/Earnings EV/EBITDA Shareholder Yield Price/Book Value Price/Free Cash Flow Value Grade
Luxfer Holdings PLC LXFR 0.88 na 10.4 4.4% 1.65 16.1 B
Paul Mueller Co MUEL 0.63 na na 14.4% 2.28 na A
NL Industries Inc NL 1.89 26.6 12.3 5.2% 0.81 14.2 B

The Value Grade is assigned based on how each stock’s composite valuation compares to all other stocks.

The process for assigning grades starts with each variable for a given stock. The percentile rankings for all valid ratios that a stock has are calculated. So, for instance, a stock could have a price-to-book ranking in the 43rd percentile, a price-earnings ranking in the 67th percentile, a price-to-sales ranking in the 23rd percentile, etc. Then, those rankings are averaged for each stock. (A minimum of two valid variables are required, though all six will be used if available.)

Once the average of the individual variables is calculated, that average is ranked against all stocks. Put another way, each stock’s composite valuation is compared to all other stocks. These ranks are then sorted into quintiles from the cheapest 20% (a grade of A) to the most expensive 20% (a grade of F).

As always, we recommend that you conduct proper due diligence and research before investing in any security. We also suggest that investors utilize numerous grades, not just value, when it comes to deciding whether a company is a good fit for their allocation needs.

Luxfer Holdings PLC’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score LXFR Industry Median
Price/Sales 30 0.88 1.83
Price/Earnings na na 26.4
EV/EBITDA 47 10.4 14.7
Shareholder Yield 19 4.4% 0.5%
Price/Book Value 48 1.65 2.64
Price/Free Cash Flow 43 16.1 28.4

Luxfer Holdings PLC is a global industrial company, which is focused on niche applications in materials engineering. The Company focus primarily on product lines related to magnesium alloys, zirconium chemicals and carbon composites. The Company operates in three segments: Elektron, Gas Cylinders and Graphic Arts. The Elektron segment focuses on specialty materials based primarily on magnesium and zirconium. The Gas Cylinders segment manufactures and markets specialized, highly engineered cylinders using carbon composites and aluminum alloys. Its product lines include carbon fiber composite cylinders for self-contained breathing apparatus. The Graphic Arts segment provides magnesium photo-engraving plates, engraving metals and etching chemicals. Its key product lines include magnesium, copper, and zinc photo-engraving plates for graphic arts and luxury packaging, developer solutions to aid the engraving process, and solid wrought magnesium slab and sheet.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Luxfer Holdings PLC has a Value Score of 69, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Luxfer Holdings PLC’s price-to-sales ratio at 0.88 compared to the industry median at 1.83, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Luxfer Holdings PLC’s stock more attractive for value investors.

Now, let’s assess Luxfer Holdings PLC’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 10.4, when compared to the industry median of 14.7, the company may be considered undervalued in relation to its peers. Value investors could use the enterprise multiple to identify stocks that are considered overvalued or undervalued relative to their industry.

Shareholder yield is the sum of a stock’s dividend yield (paid over previous 12 months minus special dividends) and the percentage of net share buybacks over the previous 12 months. Luxfer Holdings PLC’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of 0.45%. Value investors may look for an attractive shareholder yield because it can be a powerful tool for identifying if the company has a good management team.

As one of the most common value metrics, the price-to-book ratio evaluates a company’s current market price relative to its book value. Luxfer Holdings PLC’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 2.64. This could make Luxfer Holdings PLC more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lastly, let’s take a look at Luxfer Holdings PLC’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (P/FCF), which can indicate a company’s market value relative to its operating cash flow. Luxfer Holdings PLC’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 28.35. This could make Luxfer Holdings PLC more attractive because the lower P/FCF ratio indicates that Luxfer Holdings PLC is undervalued. The P/FCF ratio metric can also be viewed over a long-term time frame to see if the company's cash flow to share price value is generally improving or worsening.

Paul Mueller Co’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score MUEL Industry Median
Price/Sales 23 0.63 1.83
Price/Earnings na na 26.4
EV/EBITDA na na 14.7
Shareholder Yield 4 14.4% 0.5%
Price/Book Value 60 2.28 2.64
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 28.4

Paul Mueller Company is engaged in designing and manufacturing of stainless-steel processing systems and equipment. The Company’s segments include Dairy Farm Equipment, Industrial Equipment, Field Fabrication, and Transportation. Dairy Farm Equipment segment manufactures milk cooling and storage, refrigeration products, and heat recovery equipment. Field Fabrication segment includes sales of large, field-fabricated tanks and vessels. Its Industrial Equipment segment is engaged in standard and customized stainless steel and alloy processing and storage tanks, pure water equipment, and heat transfer products. Transportation segment is engaged in delivery of products and components to customers and field fabrication sites, backhauls of material, and contract carriage. Its products and services are used in a variety of industries, including animal health, beverage, brewing, chemicals, dairy farm and processing, heat transfer, industrial construction, pure water, tank fabrication, and wine.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Paul Mueller Co has a Value Score of 85, which is considered to be undervalued.

Paul Mueller Co’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Paul Mueller Co less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 2.64.

You can read more about Paul Mueller Co’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

NL Industries Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score NL Industry Median
Price/Sales 53 1.89 1.83
Price/Earnings 65 26.6 26.4
EV/EBITDA 56 12.3 14.7
Shareholder Yield 16 5.2% 0.5%
Price/Book Value 21 0.81 2.64
Price/Free Cash Flow 38 14.2 28.4

NL Industries, Inc. is a holding company. The Company operate in the component products industry through its subsidiary, CompX International Inc. (CompX). CompX manufactures engineered components that are sold to a variety of industries. Through its Security Products operations, CompX manufactures mechanical and electronic cabinet locks and other locking mechanisms used in postal, recreational transportation, office and institutional furniture, cabinetry, tool storage and healthcare applications. CompX also manufactures wake enhancement systems, stainless steel exhaust systems, gauges, throttle controls, trim tabs and related hardware and accessories for the recreational marine and other industries through its Marine Components operations. It also operates in the chemicals industry through its noncontrolling interest in Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (Kronos). Kronos is a global producer and marketer of value-added titanium dioxide pigments (TiO2), a base industrial product.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

NL Industries Inc has a Value Score of 62, which is considered to be undervalued.

NL Industries Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 26.6 compared to the industry median at 26.4. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes NL Industries Inc less attractive for value investors.

NL Industries Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make NL Industries Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 2.64.

You can read more about NL Industries Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

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Other Industrial Machinery & Equipment Stock Grades

Value is just one of the five Stock Grades included in our A+ Investor service. AAII members can see the top-graded stocks—those with grades of A or B for value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality—on the A+ Stock Grades Screener.

Also, if you want full access to all of AAII’s premium services, you can subscribe to one convenient bundled plan called AAII Platinum where you can try out A+ Investor, AAII Dividend Investing, the Stock Superstars Report, Growth Investing and VMQ Stocks. With the other premium services, you can dive deep into additional metrics, portfolios, commentary and information about Industrial Machinery & Equipment stocks as well as other industrys.

Choosing Which of the 3 Best Industrial Machinery & Equipment Stocks Is Right for You

Choosing which value stocks to invest in will ultimately depend on your individual goals and allocation; however, comparing similar value stocks in the same industry can help you analyze which might be better investments for you in the long run. So, let’s take a look at the Value Grade for all of our stocks.

  • Luxfer Holdings PLC stock has a Value Grade of B.
  • Paul Mueller Co stock has a Value Grade of A.
  • NL Industries Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 3 undervalued stocks in the Industrial Machinery & Equipment industry as well as their overall grades, it’s time for you to conduct additional research to see if these could fit your portfolio needs based on your goals and risk tolerance. AAII can help you figure out both and identify which investments align with what works best for you.

We do so through a program of education that teaches you to invest for yourself and become an effective manager of your own wealth—no more relying on others for your financial independence. You can rely on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis that makes you a better investor.

A+ Investor adds to that qualitative teaching by giving you a powerful data suite that helps you whittle down investment decisions to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

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Additional Resources About Industrial Machinery & Equipment Stocks

Want to learn more about Industrial Machinery & Equipment stocks to see if they could be the right investment for you? Check out some additional resources and articles to help you on your financial journey.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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