SYF vs. VIRT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Financial - Miscellaneous Services stocks have likely encountered both Synchrony (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Synchrony is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Virtu Financial has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that SYF likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than VIRT has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

SYF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.95, while VIRT has a forward P/E of 7.63. We also note that SYF has a PEG ratio of 0.95. 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. VIRT currently has a PEG ratio of 3.89.

Another notable valuation metric for SYF is its P/B ratio of 1.23. 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, VIRT has a P/B of 1.83.

Based on these metrics and many more, SYF holds a Value grade of A, while VIRT has a Value grade of D.

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

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Synchrony Financial (SYF) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Virtu Financial, Inc. (VIRT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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