Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 4 stocks made the list for top value stocks in the Software 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 Software 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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4 Undervalued Software Stocks
Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 4 undervalued stocks in the Software industry for Wednesday, August 30, 2023. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the Software industry median.
| Company | Ticker | Price/Sales | Price/Earnings | EV/EBITDA | Shareholder Yield | Price/Book Value | Price/Free Cash Flow | Value Grade |
| Agent Information Software Inc | AIFS | 0.94 | 15.1 | 4.4 | 10.8% | 1.26 | 15.2 | A |
| CareCloud Inc | CCLD | 0.21 | na | 3.5 | (3.6%) | 0.28 | 1.5 | A |
| Luokung Technology Corp | LKCO | 0.18 | na | na | (95.7%) | 0.15 | na | B |
| VerifyMe Inc | VRME | 0.44 | na | na | (18.8%) | 0.92 | na | B |
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.
Agent Information Software Inc’s Value Grade
Value Grade:
| Metric | Score | AIFS | Industry Median |
| Price/Sales | 33 | 0.94 | 3.69 |
| Price/Earnings | 45 | 15.1 | 44.0 |
| EV/EBITDA | 17 | 4.4 | 24.0 |
| Shareholder Yield | 8 | 10.8% | (2.2%) |
| Price/Book Value | 38 | 1.26 | 3.53 |
| Price/Free Cash Flow | 46 | 15.2 | 33.1 |
Agent Information Software, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiaries Auto Graphics, Inc. and A-G Canada, Ltd., provides software products and services used to create, manage, publish and access information content via the Internet/Web. Auto Graphics, Inc. provides software products and services to customers in the library community and publishing markets throughout the United States. A-G Canada Ltd. provides software products and services to customers in the library community in Canada. The Company’s products include VERSO, SHAREit, MONTAGE and RESEARCHit. The VERSO Integrated Library System (ILS) allows library to select and pay for only the services needed. SHAREit is an online-based resource sharing platform. MONTAGE is a cloud-based digital collection solution. RESEARCHit is a federated search solution, that allows researchers to search a range of e-content resources and yield a common de-duplicated result set.
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.
Agent Information Software Inc has a Value Score of 81, which is considered to be undervalued.
When you look at Agent Information Software Inc’s price-to-sales ratio at 0.94 compared to the industry median at 3.69, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Agent Information Software Inc’s stock more attractive for value investors.
Agent Information Software Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 15.12 compared to the industry median at 44.00. This means it has a lower share price relative to earnings compared to its peers. This could make Agent Information Software Inc more attractive for value investors.
Now, let’s assess Agent Information Software Inc’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 4.4, when compared to the industry median of 24.0, 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. Agent Information Software Inc’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of (2.20%). 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. Agent Information Software Inc’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 3.53. This could make Agent Information Software Inc more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.
Lastly, let’s take a look at Agent Information Software Inc’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (P/FCF), which can indicate a company’s market value relative to its operating cash flow. Agent Information Software Inc’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 33.07. This could make Agent Information Software Inc more attractive because the lower P/FCF ratio indicates that Agent Information Software 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.
CareCloud Inc’s Value Grade
Value Grade:
| Metric | Score | CCLD | Industry Median |
| Price/Sales | 8 | 0.21 | 3.69 |
| Price/Earnings | na | na | 44.0 |
| EV/EBITDA | 12 | 3.5 | 24.0 |
| Shareholder Yield | 72 | (3.6%) | (2.2%) |
| Price/Book Value | 4 | 0.28 | 3.53 |
| Price/Free Cash Flow | 2 | 1.5 | 33.1 |
CareCloud, Inc. is a healthcare information technology company. The Company provides a suite of cloud-based solutions and related business services, to healthcare providers, from small practices to enterprise medical groups, hospitals, and health systems throughout the United States. Its segments include Healthcare IT and Medical Practice Management. Healthcare IT segment includes revenue cycle management and other services. Medical Practice Management segment includes the management of three medical practices. Its technology-enabled business solutions include revenue cycle management; Cloud-based software; Digital health; and Healthcare IT professional services & staffing. Its software-as-a-service platforms include practice management (PM), electronic health record (EHR), business intelligence, telehealth, patient experience management (PXM), and others. Its Revenue Cycle Management services including end-to-end medical billing, eligibility, analytics, and related services.
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.
CareCloud Inc has a Value Score of 96, which is considered to be undervalued.
CareCloud Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make CareCloud Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.53.
You can read more about CareCloud 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.
Luokung Technology Corp’s Value Grade
Value Grade:
| Metric | Score | LKCO | Industry Median |
| Price/Sales | 7 | 0.18 | 3.69 |
| Price/Earnings | na | na | 44.0 |
| EV/EBITDA | na | na | 24.0 |
| Shareholder Yield | 96 | (95.7%) | (2.2%) |
| Price/Book Value | 2 | 0.15 | 3.53 |
| Price/Free Cash Flow | na | na | 33.1 |
Luokung Technology Corp is a China-based investment holding company. The company's main business includes spatial-temporal intelligent big data services, Location Based Services (LBS) and High Definition (HD) Maps for various industries. The Company has established city-level and industry-level holographic spatial-temporal digital twin systems and actively serves industries including smart transportation with applications in autonomous driving, smart highway and vehicle-road collaboration, natural resource asset management, covering carbon neutral and environmental protection remote sensing data service, and LBS smart industry applications, including mobile Internet LBS, smart travel, smart logistics, new infrastructure, smart cities, emergency rescue. The Company mainly operates in the domestic market.
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.
Luokung Technology Corp has a Value Score of 74, which is considered to be undervalued.
Luokung Technology Corp’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Luokung Technology Corp less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.53.
You can read more about Luokung Technology 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.
VerifyMe Inc’s Value Grade
Value Grade:
| Metric | Score | VRME | Industry Median |
| Price/Sales | 17 | 0.44 | 3.69 |
| Price/Earnings | na | na | 44.0 |
| EV/EBITDA | na | na | 24.0 |
| Shareholder Yield | 86 | (18.8%) | (2.2%) |
| Price/Book Value | 26 | 0.92 | 3.53 |
| Price/Free Cash Flow | na | na | 33.1 |
VerifyMe, Inc. is a software-driven logistics provider of end-to-end logistics management solutions. The Company operates through two segments: PeriShip Global Solutions and VerifyMe Solutions. The PeriShip Global Solutions segment provides a value-added service for time and temperature-sensitive parcel management driven by a software platform that provides predictive analytics from metrics, such as flight-tracking, weather, and traffic, all delivered to customers via a secure portal. The VerifyMe Solutions segment provides unit level traceability, brand protection, unit level traceability and consumer engagement solutions, allowing brand owners to gather business intelligence, cross-sell products, monitor product diversion through the supply chain and build brand loyalty. It provides real-time information and analysis to mitigate supply chain flow interruption, delivering last-mile resolution for key markets, including the perishable healthcare and food industries.
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.
VerifyMe Inc has a Value Score of 61, which is considered to be undervalued.
VerifyMe Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make VerifyMe Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.53.
You can read more about VerifyMe 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.
Other Software 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 Software stocks as well as other industrys.
Choosing Which of the 4 Best Software 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.
- Agent Information Software Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.
- CareCloud Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.
- Luokung Technology Corp stock has a Value Grade of B.
- VerifyMe Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 4 undervalued stocks in the Software 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 Software Stocks
Want to learn more about Software 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.
- 4 Undervalued Software Stocks for Wednesday, August 30
- What You Need to Know About Box Inc's Q2 Earnings
- What You Need to Know About nCino Inc's Q2 Earnings
- 6 Undervalued Software Stocks for Tuesday, August 29
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.
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