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FIS vs. EFX: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Financial Transaction Services sector have probably already heard of Fidelity National Information Services (FIS - 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Fidelity National Information Services has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Equifax has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that FIS likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than EFX has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

FIS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.60, while EFX has a forward P/E of 37.07. We also note that FIS has a PEG ratio of 0.79. 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. EFX currently has a PEG ratio of 2.54.

Another notable valuation metric for FIS is its P/B ratio of 2.92. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, EFX has a P/B of 6.85.

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

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


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Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS) - free report >>

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