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FI or MA: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Financial Transaction Services sector might want to consider either Fiserv (FI - Free Report) or MasterCard (MA - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Fiserv 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 FI has an improving earnings outlook. 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.

FI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.59, while MA has a forward P/E of 33.17. We also note that FI has a PEG ratio of 1.20. 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 1.81.

Another notable valuation metric for FI is its P/B ratio of 2.30. 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 68.24.

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

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


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