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AU vs. AEM: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Mining - Gold sector might want to consider either AngloGold (AU - Free Report) or Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Both AngloGold and Agnico Eagle Mines have a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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 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.

AU currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.18, while AEM has a forward P/E of 40.37. We also note that AU has a PEG ratio of 0.43. 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. AEM currently has a PEG ratio of 40.37.

Another notable valuation metric for AU is its P/B ratio of 3.58. 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, AEM has a P/B of 3.68.

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

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


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