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BFAM or APG: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Business - Services stocks are likely familiar with Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM - Free Report) and APi (APG - 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.

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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Right now, Bright Horizons Family Solutions is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while APi has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that BFAM likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than APG has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

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.

BFAM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.97, while APG has a forward P/E of 27.31. We also note that BFAM has a PEG ratio of 1.25. 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. APG currently has a PEG ratio of 2.73.

Another notable valuation metric for BFAM is its P/B ratio of 3.42. 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, APG has a P/B of 5.67.

These metrics, and several others, help BFAM earn a Value grade of A, while APG has been given a Value grade of C.

BFAM 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 BFAM is likely the superior value option right now.

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