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GEN or ZETA: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Technology Services stocks have likely encountered both Gen Digital (GEN - Free Report) and Zeta Global Holdings (ZETA - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Gen Digital is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Zeta Global Holdings has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that GEN has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

GEN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.40, while ZETA has a forward P/E of 28.53. We also note that GEN has a PEG ratio of 0.80. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. ZETA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.13.

Another notable valuation metric for GEN is its P/B ratio of 6.6. 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, ZETA has a P/B of 6.87.

These metrics, and several others, help GEN earn a Value grade of A, while ZETA has been given a Value grade of D.

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


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