HCKT or CRAI: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors interested in Consulting Services stocks are likely familiar with Hackett Group (HCKT) and CRA International (CRAI). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 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.

Hackett Group and CRA International are both sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.

HCKT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.97, while CRAI has a forward P/E of 25.31. We also note that HCKT has a PEG ratio of 1.09. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. CRAI currently has a PEG ratio of 1.58.

Another notable valuation metric for HCKT is its P/B ratio of 5.57. 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, CRAI has a P/B of 7.27.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to HCKT's Value grade of B and CRAI's Value grade of C.

Both HCKT and CRAI are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that HCKT 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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