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BAH vs. IT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Consulting Services sector might want to consider either Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH - Free Report) or Gartner (IT - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. 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, Booz Allen Hamilton has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Gartner has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that BAH 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 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.

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.

BAH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.09, while IT has a forward P/E of 32.40. We also note that BAH has a PEG ratio of 1.15. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. IT currently has a PEG ratio of 2.66.

Another notable valuation metric for BAH is its P/B ratio of 11.70. 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, IT has a P/B of 23.06.

Based on these metrics and many more, BAH holds a Value grade of B, while IT has a Value grade of D.

BAH sticks out from IT in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that BAH is the better option right now.


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