Investors with an interest in Internet - Content stocks have likely encountered both Shutterstock (SSTK) and RELX PLC (RELX). But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. 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.

Shutterstock and RELX PLC are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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 grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

SSTK currently has a forward P/E ratio of 3.67, while RELX has a forward P/E of 28.41. We also note that SSTK has a PEG ratio of 0.45. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. RELX currently has a PEG ratio of 2.58.

Another notable valuation metric for SSTK is its P/B ratio of 1.33. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, RELX has a P/B of 19.84.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to SSTK's Value grade of A and RELX's Value grade of D.

Both SSTK and RELX are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that SSTK is the superior value option right now.

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Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK):Free Stock Analysis Report

RELX PLC (RELX):Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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