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Investors looking for stocks in the Business - Information Services sector might want to consider either INTERTEK GP (IKTSY) or Verisk Analytics (VRSK). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.
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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
INTERTEK GP and Verisk Analytics are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that IKTSY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than VRSK has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.
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.
IKTSY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.68, while VRSK has a forward P/E of 40.86. We also note that IKTSY has a PEG ratio of 3.28. 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. VRSK currently has a PEG ratio of 3.41.
Another notable valuation metric for IKTSY is its P/B ratio of 6.30. 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, VRSK has a P/B of 87.78.
These metrics, and several others, help IKTSY earn a Value grade of B, while VRSK has been given a Value grade of D.
IKTSY stands above VRSK thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that IKTSY is the superior value option right now.
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INTERTEK GP (IKTSY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Verisk Analytics, Inc. (VRSK) : Free Stock Analysis Report