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III vs. ACN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Consulting Services stocks have likely encountered both Information Services Group (III - Free Report) and Accenture (ACN - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Currently, Information Services Group has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Accenture has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that III likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ACN has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when 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.

III currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.85, while ACN has a forward P/E of 21.13. We also note that III has a PEG ratio of 0.70. 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. ACN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.04.

Another notable valuation metric for III is its P/B ratio of 2.52. 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, ACN has a P/B of 9.07.

These metrics, and several others, help III earn a Value grade of B, while ACN has been given a Value grade of D.

III stands above ACN thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that III is the superior value option right now.


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