MTRX or ACM: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors interested in stocks from the Engineering - R and D Services sector have probably already heard of Matrix Service (MTRX) and Aecom Technology (ACM). 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Matrix Service has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Aecom Technology has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that MTRX likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ACM has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

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.

MTRX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 23.11, while ACM has a forward P/E of 23.30. We also note that MTRX has a PEG ratio of 1.28. 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. ACM currently has a PEG ratio of 1.94.

Another notable valuation metric for MTRX is its P/B ratio of 3.02. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ACM has a P/B of 6.48.

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

MTRX stands above ACM thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that MTRX is the superior value option right now.

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

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