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IKTSY or FDS: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Business - Information Services stocks are likely familiar with INTERTEK GP (IKTSY - Free Report) and FactSet Research (FDS - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

INTERTEK GP and FactSet Research are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that IKTSY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than FDS has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

IKTSY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.73, while FDS has a forward P/E of 29.08. We also note that IKTSY has a PEG ratio of 2.08. 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. FDS currently has a PEG ratio of 2.91.

Another notable valuation metric for IKTSY is its P/B ratio of 5.75. 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, FDS has a P/B of 11.19.

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

IKTSY 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 IKTSY is likely the superior value option right now.


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FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS) - free report >>

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