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WEX vs. ADYEY: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Financial Transaction Services stocks are likely familiar with Wex (WEX - Free Report) and Adyen N.V. Unsponsored ADR (ADYEY - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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, Wex is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Adyen N.V. Unsponsored ADR has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that WEX is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

WEX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.63, while ADYEY has a forward P/E of 63.13. We also note that WEX has a PEG ratio of 0.71. 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. ADYEY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.96.

Another notable valuation metric for WEX is its P/B ratio of 3.74. 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, ADYEY has a P/B of 26.29.

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

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


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