Investors interested in stocks from the Consulting Services sector have probably already heard of CRA International (CRAI) and Equifax (EFX). But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We’ll need to take a closer look.
Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Currently, CRA International has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Equifax has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that CRAI’s earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.
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.
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.
CRAI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 23.78, while EFX has a forward P/E of 26.86. We also note that CRAI has a PEG ratio of 1.49. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company’s expected EPS growth rate. EFX currently has a PEG ratio of 2.43.
Another notable valuation metric for CRAI is its P/B ratio of 5.93. The P/B ratio pits a stock’s market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, EFX has a P/B of 6.15.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to CRAI’s Value grade of B and EFX’s Value grade of D.
CRAI stands above EFX thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that CRAI is the superior value option right now.
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Charles River Associates (CRAI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Equifax, Inc. (EFX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
