Investors looking for stocks in the Technology Services sector might want to consider either Alithya Group (ALYAF) or JBT Marel (JBTM). 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.
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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Right now, Alithya Group is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while JBT Marel has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that ALYAF has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.
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.
ALYAF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.74, while JBTM has a forward P/E of 18.34. We also note that ALYAF has a PEG ratio of 0.72. 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. JBTM currently has a PEG ratio of 1.68.
Another notable valuation metric for ALYAF is its P/B ratio of 0.96. 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, JBTM has a P/B of 1.34.
Based on these metrics and many more, ALYAF holds a Value grade of A, while JBTM has a Value grade of C.
ALYAF stands above JBTM thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that ALYAF is the superior value option right now.
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Alithya Group Inc. (ALYAF): Free Stock Analysis Report JBT Marel Corporation (JBTM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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