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CGEMY or PAYX: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Outsourcing sector might want to consider either Cap Gemini SA (CGEMY - Free Report) or Paychex (PAYX - Free Report) . 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Cap Gemini SA and Paychex are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

CGEMY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.14, while PAYX has a forward P/E of 26.11. We also note that CGEMY has a PEG ratio of 1.83. 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. PAYX currently has a PEG ratio of 3.48.

Another notable valuation metric for CGEMY is its P/B ratio of 3.36. 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, PAYX has a P/B of 12.61.

These metrics, and several others, help CGEMY earn a Value grade of A, while PAYX has been given a Value grade of C.

Both CGEMY and PAYX are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that CGEMY is the superior value option right now.


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