CRAI vs. ACN: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?
Investors interested in stocks from the Consulting Services sector have probably already heard of CRA International (CRAI) and Accenture (ACN). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.
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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.
Currently, CRA International has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Accenture has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that CRAI has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.
Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.
CRAI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.48, while ACN has a forward P/E of 22.83. We also note that CRAI 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. ACN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.21.
Another notable valuation metric for CRAI is its P/B ratio of 1.89. 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 7.28.
Based on these metrics and many more, CRAI holds a Value grade of A, while ACN has a Value grade of D.
CRAI sticks out from ACN in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that CRAI is the better option right now.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Charles River Associates (CRAI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Accenture PLC (ACN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
