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ECVT vs. NVEE: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Technology Services sector might want to consider either Ecovyst (ECVT - Free Report) or NV5 Global (NVEE - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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.

Ecovyst has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while NV5 Global has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that ECVT has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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 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.

ECVT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.31, while NVEE has a forward P/E of 20.94. We also note that ECVT has a PEG ratio of 0.50. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. NVEE currently has a PEG ratio of 1.42.

Another notable valuation metric for ECVT is its P/B ratio of 1.72. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, NVEE has a P/B of 2.29.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ECVT's Value grade of A and NVEE's Value grade of C.

ECVT 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 ECVT is likely the superior value option right now.


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