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KELYA or CCRN: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

By Zacks Equity Research | October 13, 2025, 11:40 AM

Investors interested in Staffing Firms stocks are likely familiar with Kelly Services (KELYA) and Cross Country Healthcare (CCRN). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Kelly Services has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Cross Country Healthcare has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that KELYA likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than CCRN has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

KELYA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.78, while CCRN has a forward P/E of 69.19. We also note that KELYA has a PEG ratio of 0.44. 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. CCRN currently has a PEG ratio of 6.92.

Another notable valuation metric for KELYA is its P/B ratio of 0.35. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, CCRN has a P/B of 0.92.

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

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

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Kelly Services, Inc. (KELYA): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (CCRN): Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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