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WEX vs. EFX: 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 Wex (WEX - Free Report) and Equifax (EFX - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Wex and Equifax are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that WEX is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

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.

WEX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.91, while EFX has a forward P/E of 33.17. We also note that WEX has a PEG ratio of 1.47. 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. EFX currently has a PEG ratio of 2.25.

Another notable valuation metric for WEX is its P/B ratio of 5.01. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, EFX has a P/B of 7.14.

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

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


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