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HCKT vs. ACN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Consulting Services stocks have likely encountered both Hackett Group (HCKT - Free Report) and Accenture (ACN - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Hackett Group has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Accenture has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). This means that HCKT'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.

HCKT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.31, while ACN has a forward P/E of 23.28. We also note that HCKT has a PEG ratio of 0.84. 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. ACN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.45.

Another notable valuation metric for HCKT is its P/B ratio of 3.59. 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, ACN has a P/B of 7.10.

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

HCKT sticks out from ACN in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that HCKT is the better option right now.


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