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BCOR vs. SMGZY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Technology Services sector have probably already heard of Blucora and Smiths Group PLC (SMGZY - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive 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.

Blucora and Smiths Group PLC are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that BCOR likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than SMGZY has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

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.

BCOR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.57, while SMGZY has a forward P/E of 16.45. We also note that BCOR has a PEG ratio of 0.53. 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. SMGZY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.51.

Another notable valuation metric for BCOR is its P/B ratio of 1.45. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, SMGZY has a P/B of 2.68.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to BCOR's Value grade of A and SMGZY's Value grade of C.

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


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