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PERI vs. RELX: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Internet - Content stocks have likely encountered both Perion Network (PERI - Free Report) and RELX PLC (RELX - 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.

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.

Perion Network and RELX PLC are both sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. 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.

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.

PERI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.38, while RELX has a forward P/E of 18.61. We also note that PERI has a PEG ratio of 0.44. 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. RELX currently has a PEG ratio of 1.57.

Another notable valuation metric for PERI is its P/B ratio of 0.61. 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, RELX has a P/B of 37.42.

Based on these metrics and many more, PERI holds a Value grade of A, while RELX has a Value grade of C.

Both PERI and RELX are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that PERI is the superior value option right now.

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