PD or FFIV: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors with an interest in Internet - Software stocks have likely encountered both PagerDuty (PD) and F5 Networks (FFIV). 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, PagerDuty is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while F5 Networks 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 PD is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture 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.

PD currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.95, while FFIV has a forward P/E of 26.16. We also note that PD has a PEG ratio of 1.18. 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. FFIV currently has a PEG ratio of 3.92.

Another notable valuation metric for PD is its P/B ratio of 3.68. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, FFIV has a P/B of 6.67.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PD's Value grade of A and FFIV's Value grade of D.

PD stands above FFIV thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that PD 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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