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RAL or IBTA: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Technology Services stocks have likely encountered both Ralliant (RAL - Free Report) and Ibotta (IBTA - 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.

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.

Right now, Ralliant is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Ibotta has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that RAL is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

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.

RAL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.79, while IBTA has a forward P/E of 312.30. We also note that RAL has a PEG ratio of 1.73. 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. IBTA currently has a PEG ratio of 24.98.

Another notable valuation metric for RAL is its P/B ratio of 1.56. 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, IBTA has a P/B of 2.23.

Based on these metrics and many more, RAL holds a Value grade of B, while IBTA has a Value grade of C.

RAL 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 RAL is likely the superior value option right now.


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