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WEX or MA: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Financial Transaction Services stocks are likely familiar with Wex (WEX - Free Report) and MasterCard (MA - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Wex and MasterCard are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that WEX'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 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.

WEX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.70, while MA has a forward P/E of 30.35. We also note that WEX has a PEG ratio of 0.79. 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. MA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.50.

Another notable valuation metric for WEX is its P/B ratio of 3.81. 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, MA has a P/B of 41.54.

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

WEX stands above MA thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that WEX is the superior value option right now.


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