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STNE or PYCR: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Internet - Software stocks are likely familiar with StoneCo Ltd. (STNE - Free Report) and Paycor HCM, Inc. (PYCR - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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.

Currently, StoneCo Ltd. has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Paycor HCM, Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). This means that STNE's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.

STNE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.64, while PYCR has a forward P/E of 30.86. We also note that STNE has a PEG ratio of 0.33. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. PYCR currently has a PEG ratio of 2.17.

Another notable valuation metric for STNE is its P/B ratio of 1.04. 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, PYCR has a P/B of 2.36.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to STNE's Value grade of B and PYCR's Value grade of D.

STNE 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 STNE is likely the superior value option right now.


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