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MAN vs. RHI: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Staffing Firms sector have probably already heard of ManpowerGroup (MAN - Free Report) and Robert Half (RHI - 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.

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

Right now, both ManpowerGroup and Robert Half are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

MAN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.66, while RHI has a forward P/E of 21.20. We also note that MAN has a PEG ratio of 0.76. 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. RHI currently has a PEG ratio of 1.09.

Another notable valuation metric for MAN is its P/B ratio of 2.80. 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, RHI has a P/B of 9.28.

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

Both MAN and RHI are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that MAN is the superior value option right now.


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ManpowerGroup Inc. (MAN) - free report >>

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