BCOR vs. TRI: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Investors with an interest in Technology Services stocks have likely encountered both Blucora (BCOR) and Thomson Reuters (TRI). 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.

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.

Right now, Blucora is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Thomson Reuters has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). This means that BCOR's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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 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.

BCOR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.64, while TRI has a forward P/E of 57.44. We also note that BCOR has a PEG ratio of 0.73. 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. TRI currently has a PEG ratio of 7.18.

Another notable valuation metric for BCOR is its P/B ratio of 2.32. 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, TRI has a P/B of 3.61.

Based on these metrics and many more, BCOR holds a Value grade of B, while TRI has a Value grade of D.

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

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