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IRM or PSA: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the REIT and Equity Trust - Other sector have probably already heard of Iron Mountain (IRM - Free Report) and Public Storage (PSA - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Iron Mountain has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Public Storage has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that IRM likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than PSA has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

IRM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.61, while PSA has a forward P/E of 22.34. We also note that IRM has a PEG ratio of 2.16. 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. PSA currently has a PEG ratio of 6.66.

Another notable valuation metric for IRM is its P/B ratio of 7.69. 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, PSA has a P/B of 8.31.

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

IRM has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than PSA, so it seems like value investors will conclude that IRM is the superior option right now.


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