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WEX or EFX: 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 Equifax (EFX - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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.

Wex and Equifax are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that WEX is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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 highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

WEX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.95, while EFX has a forward P/E of 29.27. We also note that WEX has a PEG ratio of 1.14. 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. EFX currently has a PEG ratio of 2.82.

Another notable valuation metric for WEX is its P/B ratio of 4.42. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, EFX has a P/B of 5.62.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to WEX's Value grade of B and EFX's Value grade of F.

WEX 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 WEX is likely the superior value option right now.


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