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CRAI vs. ACN: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Consulting Services sector have probably already heard of CRA International (CRAI - Free Report) and Accenture (ACN - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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.

CRA International has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Accenture has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that CRAI has an improving earnings outlook. 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.

CRAI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18, while ACN has a forward P/E of 26.97. We also note that CRAI has a PEG ratio of 1.26. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. ACN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.70.

Another notable valuation metric for CRAI is its P/B ratio of 3.32. 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, ACN has a P/B of 8.28.

These metrics, and several others, help CRAI earn a Value grade of B, while ACN has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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