PRFT or GIB: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors interested in Computer – Services stocks are likely familiar with Perficient (PRFT) and CGI Group (GIB). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We’ll need to take a closer look to find out.

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

Perficient and CGI Group are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that PRFT likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than GIB has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

PRFT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.50, while GIB has a forward P/E of 19.88. We also note that PRFT has a PEG ratio of 1.81. 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. GIB currently has a PEG ratio of 2.15.

Another notable valuation metric for PRFT is its P/B ratio of 3.58. The P/B ratio pits a stock’s market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, GIB has a P/B of 4.27.

Based on these metrics and many more, PRFT holds a Value grade of B, while GIB has a Value grade of C.

PRFT is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that PRFT is likely the superior value option right now.

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