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AXP or MCO: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Financial - Miscellaneous Services sector might want to consider either American Express (AXP - Free Report) or Moody's (MCO - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive 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.

American Express and Moody's are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that AXP 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 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.

AXP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.83, while MCO has a forward P/E of 25.77. We also note that AXP has a PEG ratio of 1.18. 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. MCO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.34.

Another notable valuation metric for AXP is its P/B ratio of 4.41. 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, MCO has a P/B of 17.73.

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

AXP has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than MCO, so it seems like value investors will conclude that AXP is the superior option right now.


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