BEN or BLK: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

BEN BLK

Investors with an interest in Financial - Investment Management stocks have likely encountered both Franklin Resources (BEN - Free Report) and BlackRock (BLK - 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Franklin Resources is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while BlackRock has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that BEN has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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 Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

BEN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.28, while BLK has a forward P/E of 20.17. We also note that BEN has a PEG ratio of 1.46. 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. BLK currently has a PEG ratio of 1.84.

Another notable valuation metric for BEN is its P/B ratio of 1.24. 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, BLK has a P/B of 3.28.

These metrics, and several others, help BEN earn a Value grade of B, while BLK has been given a Value grade of D.

BEN sticks out from BLK in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that BEN is the better option right now.

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