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FLT vs. MA: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Financial Transaction Services sector have probably already heard of FleetCor Technologies and MasterCard (MA - Free Report) . 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.

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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

FleetCor Technologies and MasterCard are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that FLT has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.

FLT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.38, while MA has a forward P/E of 29.66. We also note that FLT has a PEG ratio of 1.03. 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. MA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.70.

Another notable valuation metric for FLT is its P/B ratio of 6.11. 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, MA has a P/B of 54.17.

Based on these metrics and many more, FLT holds a Value grade of B, while MA has a Value grade of D.

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


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