Back to top

Image: Bigstock

ATCO vs. TROW: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in stocks from the Financial - Investment Management sector have probably already heard of Atlas and T. Rowe Price (TROW - 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.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, both Atlas and T. Rowe Price are holding a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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 highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

ATCO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.43, while TROW has a forward P/E of 16.28. We also note that ATCO has a PEG ratio of 0.85. 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. TROW currently has a PEG ratio of 2.08.

Another notable valuation metric for ATCO is its P/B ratio of 0.56. 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, TROW has a P/B of 4.66.

These metrics, and several others, help ATCO earn a Value grade of B, while TROW has been given a Value grade of C.

Both ATCO and TROW are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that ATCO is the superior value option right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) - free report >>

Published in