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SCSC vs. P: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Technology Services stocks are likely familiar with ScanSource (SCSC - Free Report) and Everpure (P - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

ScanSource has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Everpure has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that SCSC is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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 grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

SCSC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.87, while P has a forward P/E of 40.46. We also note that SCSC has a PEG ratio of 0.79. 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. P currently has a PEG ratio of 2.10.

Another notable valuation metric for SCSC is its P/B ratio of 1.21. 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, P has a P/B of 23.13.

These metrics, and several others, help SCSC earn a Value grade of A, while P has been given a Value grade of F.

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

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