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WEX or V: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Financial Transaction Services sector might want to consider either Wex (WEX - Free Report) or Visa (V - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. 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, Wex is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Visa has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that WEX is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

WEX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.91, while V has a forward P/E of 29.08. We also note that WEX has a PEG ratio of 1.38. 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. V currently has a PEG ratio of 2.21.

Another notable valuation metric for WEX is its P/B ratio of 5.95. 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, V has a P/B of 16.21.

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

WEX has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than V, so it seems like value investors will conclude that WEX is the superior option right now.

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