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TRU vs. FDS: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Business - Information Services stocks have likely encountered both TransUnion (TRU - Free Report) and FactSet Research (FDS - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

TransUnion and FactSet Research 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 TRU is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture 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.

TRU currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.05, while FDS has a forward P/E of 29.69. We also note that TRU has a PEG ratio of 1.21. 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. FDS currently has a PEG ratio of 2.88.

Another notable valuation metric for TRU is its P/B ratio of 3.30. 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, FDS has a P/B of 10.48.

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

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


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FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS) - free report >>

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