SRT vs. EXLS: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Outsourcing sector have probably already heard of StarTek (SRT) and ExlService Holdings (EXLS). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive 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.

StarTek has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while ExlService Holdings has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that SRT's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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 Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

SRT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.48, while EXLS has a forward P/E of 21.50. We also note that SRT has a PEG ratio of 0.63. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. EXLS currently has a PEG ratio of 1.39.

Another notable valuation metric for SRT is its P/B ratio of 1.03. 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, EXLS has a P/B of 5.86.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to SRT's Value grade of A and EXLS's Value grade of C.

SRT sticks out from EXLS in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that SRT is the better option right now.

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StarTek, Inc. (SRT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

ExlService Holdings, Inc. (EXLS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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