Back to top

Image: Bigstock

SAIC vs. NOW: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors looking for stocks in the Computers - IT Services sector might want to consider either SAIC (SAIC - Free Report) or ServiceNow (NOW - 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.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

SAIC and ServiceNow are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that SAIC 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.

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.

SAIC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.16, while NOW has a forward P/E of 1,452.12. We also note that SAIC has a PEG ratio of 3.63. 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. NOW currently has a PEG ratio of 55.85.

Another notable valuation metric for SAIC is its P/B ratio of 10.48. 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, NOW has a P/B of 38.05.

Based on these metrics and many more, SAIC holds a Value grade of A, while NOW has a Value grade of F.

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) - free report >>

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) - free report >>