HCKT vs. ACN: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?
Investors interested in stocks from the Consulting Services sector have probably already heard of Hackett Group (HCKT) 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 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.
Hackett Group and Accenture are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that HCKT likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ACN has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.
Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.
HCKT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.32, while ACN has a forward P/E of 30.39. We also note that HCKT has a PEG ratio of 1.06. 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 3.42.
Another notable valuation metric for HCKT is its P/B ratio of 8.19. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ACN has a P/B of 8.47.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to HCKT's Value grade of B and ACN's Value grade of D.
HCKT has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than ACN, so it seems like value investors will conclude that HCKT is the superior option right now.
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The Hackett Group, Inc. (HCKT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Accenture PLC (ACN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
