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

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Investors interested in stocks from the Consulting Services sector have probably already heard of Huron Consulting (HURN - Free Report) and Gartner (IT - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Huron Consulting and Gartner are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that HURN has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

HURN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 24.63, while IT has a forward P/E of 40.48. We also note that HURN has a PEG ratio of 1.82. 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. IT currently has a PEG ratio of 2.76.

Another notable valuation metric for HURN is its P/B ratio of 2.20. 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, IT has a P/B of 14.28.

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

HURN 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 HURN is likely the superior value option right now.


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Huron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN) - free report >>

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