Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 5 stocks made the list for top value stocks in the IT Services & Consulting 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.

Latest IT Services & Consulting Stock News

Before choosing which top IT Services & Consulting stock to buy, be sure to conduct proper due diligence: analyze various financial metrics and look at historical data, public statements and news coverage.

The fundamental outlook for the IT Services and Consulting sub-industry for the next 12 months is positive. Client demand for highly sought after for highly sought-after services such as custom-built integrations are expected to grow strongly in 2022.  Geopolitical impacts from the Russia-Ukraine are expected to be more isolated in nature across the industry. Companies with a significant number of employees in Russia and Ukraine have been hit hard as fears around an inability to deliver consulting, engineering, and integration services remain a key risk. Conversely, for companies with employees spread across several regions, incremental revenue opportunities exist as clients in more impacted areas plan for contingencies if a worst-case scenario occurs. Revenues are expected to increase 18.1% and adjusted earnings per share 20.2% in 2022, driven by increased digital spending as opposed to spending on traditional projects. Headcount utilization and attrition levels will be key areas to watch throughout 2022 as underperformance could be driven by inability to source talent. The S&P 1500 IT Consulting Services Index is down 14.8% through April 1, 2022, compared to 4.6% from the S&P 1500. Much of the underperformance is attributed to outliers with significant exposure to the recent series of geopolitical events. For reference, the sub-industry index rose 35% in 2021, topping the S&P 1500 gain of 26.7% during the same timeframe.

Why Focus on Undervalued IT Services & Consulting 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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5 Undervalued IT Services & Consulting Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 5 undervalued stocks in the IT Services & Consulting industry for Thursday, July 20, 2023. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the IT Services & Consulting 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.

ASGN Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

ASGN Incorporated is a provider of information technology (IT) services and professional solutions, including technology and creative digital marketing, across the commercial and government sectors. The Company operates through two segments: Commercial and Federal Government. The Commercial segment provides IT services and solutions, digital and creative services to Fortune 1000 and large enterprise clients across the United States, Canada and Europe. The Federal Government segment delivers advanced solutions in cloud and enterprise IT, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, machine learning and digital transformation to meet the mission critical needs of defense, intelligence and federal civilian agencies. The Company helps corporate enterprises and government organizations develop, implement and operate critical IT and business solutions through its integrated offering of professional staffing and IT consulting services and solutions.

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.

ASGN Inc has a Value Score of 61, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at ASGN Inc’s price-to-sales ratio at 0.89 compared to the industry median at 1.77, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make ASGN Inc’s stock more attractive for value investors.

ASGN Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 17.09 compared to the industry median at 27.44. This means it has a lower share price relative to earnings compared to its peers. This could make ASGN Inc more attractive for value investors.

Now, let’s assess ASGN Inc’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 10.3, when compared to the industry median of 14.5, the company may be considered undervalued in relation to its peers. Value investors could use the enterprise multiple to identify stocks that are considered overvalued or undervalued relative to their industry.

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. ASGN Inc’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of (1.32%). 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. ASGN Inc’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 2.58. This could make ASGN Inc more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lastly, let’s take a look at ASGN Inc’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (P/FCF), which can indicate a company’s market value relative to its operating cash flow. ASGN Inc’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 25.10. This could make ASGN Inc more attractive because the lower P/FCF ratio indicates that ASGN Inc is undervalued. The P/FCF ratio metric can also be viewed over a long-term time frame to see if the company's cash flow to share price value is generally improving or worsening.

Castellum Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Castellum Inc. is a technology company. It is engaged in cybersecurity, software development, systems engineering, information / electronic warfare, program support and data analytics services. It offers artificial intelligence / machine learning, 5G technologies, model-based systems engineering, program management, information assurance, intelligence analysis, and cybersecurity maturity model certification compliance. It specializes in planning and intelligence support for information warfare and information operations (IW/IO). It develops IW/IO plans, exercises, doctrine, and training for the Military Services and the Combatant Commands in domestic and deployed overseas locations. It provides platform integration, modernization, and sustainment; system engineering; naval architecture; training and simulation services, and logistics engineering. It offers expertise and technology to defense, intelligence, and civilian agencies of the United States federal, state and local governments.

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.

Castellum Inc has a Value Score of 72, which is considered to be undervalued.

Castellum Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Castellum Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 2.58.

You can read more about Castellum 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.

Data Storage Corp’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Data Storage Corporation provides subscription-based, long-term agreements for disaster recovery solutions, cloud infrastructure, cyber security, and voice and data solutions. The Company provides cloud-managed services and technologies across multiple platforms. It provides solutions and services to a range of clients in several industries, including healthcare, banking and finance, distribution services, manufacturing, construction, education, and government. Its cyber security solutions include ezSecurity, which offers a range of cyber security solutions that can be utilized on systems at the client?s location or on systems hosted in the Company?s cloud. It provides data protection and recovery solutions, which includes ezVault, ezRecovery, ezAvailability, and ezMirror. It offers cloud-hosted production systems, which include ezHost solution. The Company provides voice and data solutions, such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), Internet access, and data transport solutions.

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.

Data Storage Corp has a Value Score of 67, which is considered to be undervalued.

Data Storage Corp’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Data Storage Corp less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 2.58.

You can read more about Data Storage Corp’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.

DXC Technology Co’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

DXC Technology Company is a global information technology (IT) services company. The Company helps global companies run their mission-critical systems and operations while modernizing IT, optimizing data architectures, and ensuring security and scalability across public, private and hybrid clouds. Its segments include Global Business Services (GBS) and Global Infrastructure Services (GIS). The GBS segment provides technology solutions that help its customers address their business challenges and accelerate transformations adjusted to each customers industry and specific objectives. GBS offerings include analytics and engineering, applications, and insurance software and business process services. The GIS segment provides a portfolio of technology offerings that deliver predictable outcomes and measurable results while reducing business risk and operational costs for customers. GIS offerings include security, cloud infrastructure and IT outsourcing (ITO), and modern workplaces.

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.

DXC Technology Co has a Value Score of 93, which is considered to be undervalued.

DXC Technology Co’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make DXC Technology Co less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 2.58.

You can read more about DXC Technology Co’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.

VirnetX Holding Corporation’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

VirnetX Holding Corporation is an Internet security software and technology company with patented technology for Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) based secure network communications. The Company's software and technology solutions, including its Secure Domain Name Registry and Technology, VirnetX One, War Room, VirnetX Matrix, and Gabriel Connection Technology, are designed to facilitate secure communications and to create a secure environment for real-time communication applications, such as cloud computing, instant messaging and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). VirnetX One is a security-as-a-service platform that protects enterprise applications, services, and infrastructure from cyberattacks. War Room software product provides a secure video conferencing meeting environment where sensitive communications and data are invisible to those not authorized to view it. VirnetX Matrix product provides security for Internet-enabled enterprise applications and their connected devices.

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.

VirnetX Holding Corporation has a Value Score of 93, which is considered to be undervalued.

VirnetX Holding Corporation’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make VirnetX Holding Corporation less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 2.58.

You can read more about VirnetX Holding Corporation’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 IT Services & Consulting 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 IT Services & Consulting stocks as well as other industrys.

Choosing Which of the 5 Best IT Services & Consulting 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.

• ASGN Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Castellum Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Data Storage Corp stock has a Value Grade of B.
• DXC Technology Co stock has a Value Grade of A.
• VirnetX Holding Corporation stock has a Value Grade of A.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 5 undervalued stocks in the IT Services & Consulting 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 IT Services & Consulting Stocks

Want to learn more about IT Services & Consulting 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.

• 5 Undervalued IT Services & Consulting Stocks for Thursday, July 20
• What You Need to Know About International Business Machines Corp.'s Q2 Earnings
• What You Need to Know About Karooooo Ltd's Q1 Earnings
• 4 Undervalued IT Services & Consulting Stocks for Wednesday, July 19

AAII Disclaimer

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