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AB or SEIC: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Financial - Investment Management sector might want to consider either AllianceBernstein (AB - Free Report) or SEI Investments (SEIC - Free Report) . 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.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. 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.

Right now, AllianceBernstein is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while SEI Investments has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that AB is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

AB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.10, while SEIC has a forward P/E of 16.65. We also note that AB has a PEG ratio of 0.81. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. SEIC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.39.

Another notable valuation metric for AB is its P/B ratio of 1.88. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, SEIC has a P/B of 4.02.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AB's Value grade of B and SEIC's Value grade of C.

AB stands above SEIC thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that AB is the superior value option right now.


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AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB) - free report >>

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