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HURN or IT: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Consulting Services stocks are likely familiar with Huron Consulting (HURN - Free Report) and Gartner (IT - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Huron Consulting is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Gartner has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that HURN likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than IT has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

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.

HURN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 24.36, while IT has a forward P/E of 35.94. We also note that HURN has a PEG ratio of 1.80. 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. IT currently has a PEG ratio of 2.75.

Another notable valuation metric for HURN is its P/B ratio of 2.45. 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, IT has a P/B of 12.35.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to HURN's Value grade of B and IT's Value grade of D.

HURN sticks out from IT in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that HURN is the better option right now.


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Huron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN) - free report >>

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