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

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Investors interested in stocks from the Business - Services sector have probably already heard of Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM - Free Report) and APi (APG - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, both Bright Horizons Family Solutions and APi are sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

BFAM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.79, while APG has a forward P/E of 25.37. We also note that BFAM has a PEG ratio of 0.77. 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. APG currently has a PEG ratio of 1.89.

Another notable valuation metric for BFAM is its P/B ratio of 4.19. 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, APG has a P/B of 5.41.

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

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

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