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JLL or EPRT: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Real Estate - Operations stocks have likely encountered both Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL - Free Report) and Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (EPRT - 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Jones Lang LaSalle and Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that JLL has an improving earnings outlook. 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.

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.

JLL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.92, while EPRT has a forward P/E of 13.94. We also note that JLL has a PEG ratio of 1.55. 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. EPRT currently has a PEG ratio of 3.11.

Another notable valuation metric for JLL is its P/B ratio of 1. 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, EPRT has a P/B of 1.06.

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

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


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Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) - free report >>

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