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ASAZY or SSTI: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Security and Safety Services stocks have likely encountered both Assa Abloy AB (ASAZY - Free Report) and SoundThinking (SSTI - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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.

Currently, Assa Abloy AB has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while SoundThinking has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ASAZY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than SSTI has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

ASAZY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.50, while SSTI has a forward P/E of 160.50. We also note that ASAZY has a PEG ratio of 2.08. 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. SSTI currently has a PEG ratio of 5.35.

Another notable valuation metric for ASAZY is its P/B ratio of 3.02. 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, SSTI has a P/B of 5.

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

ASAZY is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that ASAZY is likely the superior value option right now.


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