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PAGS vs. MA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Financial Transaction Services stocks are likely familiar with PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (PAGS - Free Report) and 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

PagSeguro Digital Ltd. and MasterCard are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong 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 PAGS is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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 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.

PAGS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.25, while MA has a forward P/E of 32.55. We also note that PAGS has a PEG ratio of 1. 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. MA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.77.

Another notable valuation metric for PAGS is its P/B ratio of 1.58. 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, MA has a P/B of 62.60.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PAGS's Value grade of A and MA's Value grade of D.

PAGS stands above MA thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that PAGS is the superior value option right now.


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