Investors with an interest in Internet - Software stocks have likely encountered both Nice (NICE) and Autodesk (ADSK). But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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, Nice is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Autodesk has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that NICE is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.
Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.
NICE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.61, while ADSK has a forward P/E of 31.05. We also note that NICE has a PEG ratio of 0.94. 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. ADSK currently has a PEG ratio of 1.90.
Another notable valuation metric for NICE is its P/B ratio of 2.24. 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, ADSK has a P/B of 24.16.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to NICE's Value grade of B and ADSK's Value grade of D.
NICE sticks out from ADSK in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that NICE is the better option right now.
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Nice (NICE): Free Stock Analysis Report Autodesk, Inc. (ADSK): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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