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BIDU vs. GOOG: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Internet - Services stocks are likely familiar with Baidu Inc. (BIDU - Free Report) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOG - 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.

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

Baidu Inc. and Alphabet Inc. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #2 (Buy), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that BIDU has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

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.

BIDU currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.98, while GOOG has a forward P/E of 23.32. We also note that BIDU has a PEG ratio of 0.29. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. GOOG currently has a PEG ratio of 1.61.

Another notable valuation metric for BIDU is its P/B ratio of 1.48. 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, GOOG has a P/B of 6.12.

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

BIDU sticks out from GOOG in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that BIDU is the better option right now.


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