Investors looking for stocks in the Business - Services sector might want to consider either ABM Industries (ABM) or Cintas (CTAS). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.
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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.
Right now, both ABM Industries and Cintas are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.
Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks 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.
ABM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.13, while CTAS has a forward P/E of 47.58. We also note that ABM has a PEG ratio of 2.73. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. CTAS currently has a PEG ratio of 3.96.
Another notable valuation metric for ABM is its P/B ratio of 1.85. 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, CTAS has a P/B of 19.28.
These metrics, and several others, help ABM earn a Value grade of A, while CTAS has been given a Value grade of D.
Both ABM and CTAS are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that ABM is the superior value option right now.
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ABM Industries Incorporated (ABM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Cintas Corporation (CTAS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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