HSC vs. TRI: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors interested in Technology Services stocks are likely familiar with Harsco (HSC) and Thomson Reuters (TRI). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Harsco has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Thomson Reuters has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that HSC has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

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.

HSC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.67, while TRI has a forward P/E of 61.24. We also note that HSC has a PEG ratio of 1.97. 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 5.09.

Another notable valuation metric for HSC is its P/B ratio of 1.93. 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, TRI has a P/B of 3.70.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to HSC's Value grade of B and TRI's Value grade of D.

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

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Harsco Corporation (HSC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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