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CATM vs. ENV: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Financial Transaction Services sector might want to consider either Cardtronics or Envestnet (ENV - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Currently, Cardtronics has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Envestnet has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). This means that CATM's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

CATM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.23, while ENV has a forward P/E of 27.90. We also note that CATM has a PEG ratio of 1.27. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. ENV currently has a PEG ratio of 1.96.

Another notable valuation metric for CATM is its P/B ratio of 3.21. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ENV has a P/B of 4.73.

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

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


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