Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 6 stocks made the list for top value stocks in the Professional Services industry. Those looking for value stocks to add to their portfolio may want to use this list as a starting point for further investment research.

Why Focus on Undervalued Professional Services Stocks?

Value investors seek to buy stocks at a discount to their intrinsic value. Long-term returns show that such strategies are advantageous. Value stocks, as a group, tend to outperform growth stocks over extended periods of time. Typically, value investors perform financial analysis of numerous metrics, don’t follow the herd and are long-term investors.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade is derived from a stock’s Value Score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

What Goes Into AAII’s Value Grade?

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data as well as the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movement. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors with that task.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A–F grades for more than just value. It is possible for a stock to appear cheap based on one valuation metric but appear expensive on another. It is also possible for one valuation ratio to be associated with outperforming stocks during certain periods of time but not others. Some stocks may even have null values for certain metrics like the price-earnings ratio or the price-to-book ratio but not others. An example of this would be a company with losses instead of profits or a negative book value because of heavy borrowing. Negative earnings or book value result in non-meaningful ratios that are left blank or null.

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6 Undervalued Professional Services Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 6 undervalued stocks in the Professional Services industry for Wednesday, October 16, 2024. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the Professional Services industry median.

The Value Grade is assigned based on how each stock’s composite valuation compares to all other stocks.

The process for assigning grades starts with each variable for a given stock. The percentile rankings for all valid ratios that a stock has are calculated. So, for instance, a stock could have a price-to-book ranking in the 43rd percentile, a price-earnings ranking in the 67th percentile, a price-to-sales ranking in the 23rd percentile, etc. Then, those rankings are averaged for each stock. (A minimum of two valid variables are required, though all six will be used if available.)

Once the average of the individual variables is calculated, that average is ranked against all stocks. Put another way, each stock’s composite valuation is compared to all other stocks. These ranks are then sorted into quintiles from the cheapest 20% (a grade of A) to the most expensive 20% (a grade of F).

As always, we recommend that you conduct proper due diligence and research before investing in any security. We also suggest that investors utilize numerous grades, not just value, when it comes to deciding whether a company is a good fit for their allocation needs.

Earlyworks Co., Ltd’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Earlyworks Co., Ltd operates as a blockchain-based technology company in Japan. The company builds products, deliver services, and develop solutions based on its proprietary Grid Ledger System to utilize blockchain technology in various business settings, including advertisement tracking, online visitor management, and sales of non-fungible tokens (NFT). It also offers software and system development; and consulting and solution services. In addition, the company develops NFT trading platforms and sells NFTs. The company serves the information technology, metaverse, advertisement, real estate, telecommunication, and entertainment industries. Earlyworks Co., Ltd was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Earlyworks Co., Ltd has a Value Score of 100, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Earlyworks Co., Ltd’s price-to-sales ratio at 0.04 compared to the industry median at 1.38, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Earlyworks Co., Ltd’s stock more attractive for value investors.

Shareholder yield is the sum of a stock’s dividend yield (paid over previous 12 months minus special dividends) and the percentage of net share buybacks over the previous 12 months. Earlyworks Co., Ltd’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of 0.45%. Value investors may look for an attractive shareholder yield because it can be a powerful tool for identifying if the company has a good management team.

As one of the most common value metrics, the price-to-book ratio evaluates a company’s current market price relative to its book value. Earlyworks Co., Ltd’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 3.14. This could make Earlyworks Co., Ltd more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lucas GC Limited’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Lucas GC Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides online agent-centric human capital management services based on platform-as-a-service (PaaS) in the People’s Republic of China. Its Star Career and Columbus platforms enables registered users to receive customized job recommendations and work as talent scouts to source suitable candidates for its corporate customers through their social network, as well as receive trainings and other value-added services. The company’s platform provides permanent and flexible employment recruitment services; outsourcing services primarily for technology-related projects to design, develop, and deliver the projects within budget and on time with acceptable quality; information technology services to generate sales leads for its corporate customers; and training services comprising career-related certification programs. In addition, it engages in the media and entertainment business, as well as provides management consulting services. Lucas GC Limited was founded in 2011 and is based in Beijing, China. Lucas GC Limited operates as a subsidiary of HTL Lucky Holding Limited.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Lucas GC Limited has a Value Score of 85, which is considered to be undervalued.

Lucas GC Limited’s price-earnings ratio is 9.3 compared to the industry median at 29.6. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Lucas GC Limited more attractive for value investors.

Lucas GC Limited’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Lucas GC Limited less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.14.

You can read more about Lucas GC Limited’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

RCM Technologies, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

RCM Technologies, Inc. provides business and technology solutions in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Europe. It operates through three segments: Engineering, Specialty Health Care, and Life Sciences and Information Technology. The Engineering segment offers a range of engineering services, including project management engineering and design, engineering analysis, engineer-procure-construct, configuration management, hardware/software validation and verification, quality assurance, technical writing and publications, manufacturing process planning and improvement, and 3D/BIM integrated design. The Specialty Health Care segment provides long-term and short-term staffing, executive search, international recruitment, and placement services in the fields of allied and therapy staffing, correctional healthcare staffing, health information management, nursing services, physician and advanced practice, school staffing and recruitment, and telepractice. The Life Sciences and Information Technology segment offers enterprise business solutions, application services, IT infrastructure solutions, life sciences solutions, and other vertical market specific solutions; and data solutions, digitization, recruiting process outsourcing, human capital management solutions, workforce management, and consulting services. The company serves aerospace and defense, energy, financial services, health care, life sciences, manufacturing and distribution, and technology industries, as well as educational institutions and the public sector. RCM Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1971 and is based in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

RCM Technologies, Inc. has a Value Score of 67, which is considered to be undervalued.

RCM Technologies, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 10.4 compared to the industry median at 29.6. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes RCM Technologies, Inc. more attractive for value investors.

RCM Technologies, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make RCM Technologies, Inc. more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.14.

You can read more about RCM Technologies, Inc.’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

SOS Limited’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

SOS Limited provides data mining and analysis services to corporate and individual members in the People’s Republic of China. It provides marketing data, technology, and solutions for insurance companies; emergency rescue services; and insurance product and health care information portals. The company operates SOS cloud emergency rescue service software as a service platform that offers basic cloud products, such as medical rescue, vehicle rescue, air rescue, financial rescue, and life rescue services; telecommunication, insurance, and bank call services; rescue cards; cooperative cloud systems, including information rescue center, intelligent big data, and intelligent software and hardware; and information cloud systems, such as newsToday and E-commerce Today, information security services, and marketing-related data. It also focuses on cryptocurrency mining, blockchain-based insurance, and security management businesses. The company serves insurance companies, financial institutions, medical institutions, healthcare providers, and other service providers in the emergency rescue services industry. SOS Limited is headquartered in Qingdao, the People’s Republic of China.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

SOS Limited has a Value Score of 72, which is considered to be undervalued.

SOS Limited’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make SOS Limited less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.14.

You can read more about SOS Limited’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Steel Connect, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Steel Connect, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides supply chain services in the United States, Mainland China, Netherlands, and internationally. It offers product configuration and packaging, kitting, and assembly of components and parts into finished goods; and value-added processes, such as product testing, radio frequency identification tagging, product or service activation, language settings, personalization and engraving, multi-channel packaging, and packaging design services. The company provides fulfillment services comprising order management, pick, pack and ship, retail compliance, and demand planning services; and reverse logistics services that simplifies the returns process for retailers and manufacturers, as well as operates a cloud-based e-commerce platform. In addition, it offers warehousing and inventory management services; and software licenses, maintenance, and support services. Further, the company offers its supply chain services to customers in the consumer electronics, communications, computing, medical devices, software, and retail markets. The company was formerly known as ModusLink Global Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to Steel Connect, Inc. in February 2018. Steel Connect, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Steel Connect, Inc. has a Value Score of 99, which is considered to be undervalued.

Steel Connect, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 3.3 compared to the industry median at 29.6. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Steel Connect, Inc. more attractive for value investors.

Steel Connect, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Steel Connect, Inc. less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.14.

You can read more about Steel Connect, Inc.’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

VCI Global Limited’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

VCI Global Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides business and technology consulting services in Malaysia. The company offers business strategy consultancy services, including listing solutions, investors relations, and boardroom strategies consultancy. It also provides technology consultancy services and solutions, such as digital development, fintech solution, and software solutions. In addition, the company engages in corporate and business advisory services in corporate finance, corporate structuring and restructuring, equity investment, and merger and acquisition; listings on recognized stock exchanges; fintech advisory; technology development; and computer software programming. Further, it is involved in provision of artificial intelligence; image processing; communication; networking and process control software services; money lending services; education and training services; real estate management consultancy services; and leasing and operational management of resort properties. The company serves its products to small-medium enterprises and government-linked agencies, as well as to publicly traded conglomerates across various industries. VCI Global Limited was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

VCI Global Limited has a Value Score of 87, which is considered to be undervalued.

VCI Global Limited’s price-earnings ratio is 0.5 compared to the industry median at 29.6. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes VCI Global Limited more attractive for value investors.

VCI Global Limited’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make VCI Global Limited less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.14.

You can read more about VCI Global Limited’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Other Professional Services Stock Grades

Value is just one of the five Stock Grades included in our A+ Investor service. AAII members can see the top-graded stocks—those with grades of A or B for value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality—on the A+ Stock Grades Screener.

Also, if you want full access to all of AAII’s premium services, you can subscribe to one convenient bundled plan called AAII Platinum where you can try out A+ Investor, AAII Dividend Investing, the Stock Superstars Report, Growth Investing and VMQ Stocks. With the other premium services, you can dive deep into additional metrics, portfolios, commentary and information about Professional Services stocks as well as other industrys.

Choosing Which of the 6 Best Professional Services Stocks Is Right for You

Choosing which value stocks to invest in will ultimately depend on your individual goals and allocation; however, comparing similar value stocks in the same industry can help you analyze which might be better investments for you in the long run. So, let’s take a look at the Value Grade for all of our stocks.

• Earlyworks Co., Ltd stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Lucas GC Limited stock has a Value Grade of A.
• RCM Technologies, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of B.
• SOS Limited stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Steel Connect, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of A.
• VCI Global Limited stock has a Value Grade of A.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 6 undervalued stocks in the Professional Services industry as well as their overall grades, it’s time for you to conduct additional research to see if these could fit your portfolio needs based on your goals and risk tolerance. AAII can help you figure out both and identify which investments align with what works best for you.

We do so through a program of education that teaches you to invest for yourself and become an effective manager of your own wealth—no more relying on others for your financial independence. You can rely on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis that makes you a better investor.

A+ Investor adds to that qualitative teaching by giving you a powerful data suite that helps you whittle down investment decisions to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Additional Resources About Professional Services Stocks

Want to learn more about Professional Services stocks to see if they could be the right investment for you? Check out some additional resources and articles to help you on your financial journey.

• 6 Undervalued Professional Services Stocks for Wednesday, October 16
• 6 Undervalued Professional Services Stocks for Tuesday, October 15
• 5 Undervalued Professional Services Stocks for Monday, October 14
• Why ShiftPixy Inc’s (PIXY) Stock Is Up 1400.00%

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.