STNE vs. INFA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors interested in Internet - Software stocks are likely familiar with StoneCo Ltd. (STNE) and Informatica Inc. (INFA). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, StoneCo Ltd. is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Informatica Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that STNE's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

STNE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.44, while INFA has a forward P/E of 21.36. We also note that STNE has a PEG ratio of 0.33. 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. INFA currently has a PEG ratio of 2.81.

Another notable valuation metric for STNE is its P/B ratio of 1.84. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, INFA has a P/B of 3.27.

Based on these metrics and many more, STNE holds a Value grade of B, while INFA has a Value grade of D.

STNE has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than INFA, so it seems like value investors will conclude that STNE is the superior option right now.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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