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ALOT or SSTI: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Technology Services sector have probably already heard of AstroNova (ALOT - Free Report) and ShotSpotter (SSTI - 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

AstroNova and ShotSpotter are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ALOT likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than SSTI has recently. 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.

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.

ALOT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 42.13, while SSTI has a forward P/E of 3,761. We also note that ALOT has a PEG ratio of 3.51. 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. SSTI currently has a PEG ratio of 107.46.

Another notable valuation metric for ALOT is its P/B ratio of 2.07. 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, SSTI has a P/B of 26.02.

Based on these metrics and many more, ALOT holds a Value grade of B, while SSTI has a Value grade of F.

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


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AstroNova, Inc. (ALOT) - free report >>

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