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

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Investors interested in stocks from the Outsourcing sector have probably already heard of Barrett Business Services (BBSI - Free Report) and Atento . 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Barrett Business Services is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Atento has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). 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 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 15.14, while ATTO has a forward P/E of 26.60. We also note that BBSI has a PEG ratio of 1.26. 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. ATTO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.22.

Another notable valuation metric for BBSI is its P/B ratio of 2.80. 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, ATTO has a P/B of 12.40.

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

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


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