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PSN vs. IBTA: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Technology Services sector have probably already heard of Parsons (PSN - Free Report) and Ibotta (IBTA - 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.

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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Parsons is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Ibotta has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that PSN's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

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.

PSN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 27.90, while IBTA has a forward P/E of 253.76. We also note that PSN has a PEG ratio of 1.50. 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. IBTA currently has a PEG ratio of 8.09.

Another notable valuation metric for PSN is its P/B ratio of 4.19. 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, IBTA has a P/B of 4.62.

These metrics, and several others, help PSN earn a Value grade of B, while IBTA has been given a Value grade of D.

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


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