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MEET or UPLD: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Internet - Software stocks have likely encountered both Meet Group and Upland Software (UPLD - Free Report) . 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Meet Group and Upland Software are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that MEET likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than UPLD has recently. 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.

MEET currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.95, while UPLD has a forward P/E of 22.36. We also note that MEET has a PEG ratio of 0.75. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. UPLD currently has a PEG ratio of 1.12.

Another notable valuation metric for MEET is its P/B ratio of 1.81. 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, UPLD has a P/B of 8.05.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to MEET's Value grade of B and UPLD's Value grade of F.

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


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