III or ACN: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
Investors with an interest in Consulting Services stocks have likely encountered both Information Services Group (III) and Accenture (ACN). 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.
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 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.
Currently, Information Services Group has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Accenture has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that III likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ACN has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.
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.
III currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.52, while ACN has a forward P/E of 36.68. We also note that III has a PEG ratio of 1.03. 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 3.67.
Another notable valuation metric for III is its P/B ratio of 3.99. 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 11.69.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to III's Value grade of B and ACN's Value grade of C.
III stands above ACN thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that III is the superior value option right now.
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