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CORE vs. PRGX: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Business - Services sector might want to consider either Core-Mark or PRGX Global . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 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, Core-Mark is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while PRGX Global has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that CORE likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than PRGX has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

CORE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.09, while PRGX has a forward P/E of 77.08. We also note that CORE has a PEG ratio of 1.47. 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. PRGX currently has a PEG ratio of 5.14.

Another notable valuation metric for CORE is its P/B ratio of 2.10. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, PRGX has a P/B of 3.50.

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

CORE stands above PRGX thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that CORE is the superior value option right now.

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