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

Investors interested in stocks from the Consulting Services sector have probably already heard of Hackett Group (HCKT) and Accenture (ACN). 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 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.

Right now, Hackett Group is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Accenture has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that HCKT'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 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 highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

HCKT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.07, while ACN has a forward P/E of 26.47. We also note that HCKT has a PEG ratio of 0.84. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. ACN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.65.

Another notable valuation metric for HCKT is its P/B ratio of 3.96. 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, ACN has a P/B of 8.17.

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

HCKT sticks out from ACN in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that HCKT is the better option right now.

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The Hackett Group, Inc. (HCKT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Accenture PLC (ACN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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