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CIXXF vs. BX: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Financial - Miscellaneous Services sector have probably already heard of CI Financial Corp. (CIXXF - Free Report) and Blackstone Inc. (BX - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, CI Financial Corp. has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Blackstone Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that CIXXF is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

CIXXF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 4.70, while BX has a forward P/E of 25.25. We also note that CIXXF has a PEG ratio of 0.59. 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. BX currently has a PEG ratio of 3.09.

Another notable valuation metric for CIXXF is its P/B ratio of 1.99. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, BX has a P/B of 5.25.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to CIXXF's Value grade of B and BX's Value grade of F.

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


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