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ASGN vs. NOW: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Computers - IT Services stocks have likely encountered both ASGN Inc (ASGN - Free Report) and ServiceNow (NOW - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

ASGN Inc and ServiceNow are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that ASGN's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

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.

ASGN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.18, while NOW has a forward P/E of 59.69. We also note that ASGN has a PEG ratio of 1.11. 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. NOW currently has a PEG ratio of 1.81.

Another notable valuation metric for ASGN is its P/B ratio of 2.85. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, NOW has a P/B of 32.64.

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

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


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