PAGS or KLAR: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors with an interest in Financial Transaction Services stocks have likely encountered both PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (PAGS) and Klarna (KLAR). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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

Currently, both PagSeguro Digital Ltd. and Klarna are holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

PAGS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.34, while KLAR has a forward P/E of 518.50. We also note that PAGS has a PEG ratio of 0.36. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. KLAR currently has a PEG ratio of 9.88.

Another notable valuation metric for PAGS is its P/B ratio of 0.92. 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, KLAR has a P/B of 2.9.

These metrics, and several others, help PAGS earn a Value grade of A, while KLAR has been given a Value grade of F.

Both PAGS and KLAR are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that PAGS is the superior value option right now.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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