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BBSI or PAYX: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Outsourcing sector might want to consider either Barrett Business Services (BBSI - Free Report) or Paychex (PAYX - 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.

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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Barrett Business Services is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Paychex has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that BBSI is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.

BBSI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.36, while PAYX has a forward P/E of 28.25. We also note that BBSI has a PEG ratio of 1.11. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. PAYX currently has a PEG ratio of 3.53.

Another notable valuation metric for BBSI is its P/B ratio of 2.10. 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, PAYX has a P/B of 10.02.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to BBSI's Value grade of A and PAYX's Value grade of D.

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


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Paychex, Inc. (PAYX) - free report >>

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