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BBSI or EXLS: 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 ExlService Holdings (EXLS - 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Barrett Business Services and ExlService Holdings are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. 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 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.

BBSI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.47, while EXLS has a forward P/E of 27.75. We also note that BBSI has a PEG ratio of 1.37. 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. EXLS currently has a PEG ratio of 2.14.

Another notable valuation metric for BBSI is its P/B ratio of 2.89. 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, EXLS has a P/B of 5.61.

Based on these metrics and many more, BBSI holds a Value grade of B, while EXLS has a Value grade of C.

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


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ExlService Holdings, Inc. (EXLS) - free report >>

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