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III vs. ACN: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Consulting Services sector have probably already heard of Information Services Group (III - Free Report) and Accenture (ACN - 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. 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.

Right now, Information Services Group is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Accenture has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that III'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 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.

III currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.96, while ACN has a forward P/E of 22.46. We also note that III has a PEG ratio of 0.78. 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. ACN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.17.

Another notable valuation metric for III is its P/B ratio of 2.56. 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, ACN has a P/B of 8.23.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to III's Value grade of A and ACN's Value grade of D.

III 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 III is likely the superior value option right now.


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