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AB or SEIC: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Financial - Investment Management stocks are likely familiar with AllianceBernstein (AB - Free Report) and SEI Investments (SEIC - 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

AllianceBernstein and SEI Investments are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. 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 just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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 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.

AB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.81, while SEIC has a forward P/E of 17.11. We also note that AB has a PEG ratio of 0.82. 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. SEIC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.43.

Another notable valuation metric for AB is its P/B ratio of 2.31. 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, SEIC has a P/B of 5.02.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AB's Value grade of B and SEIC's Value grade of C.

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


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AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB) - free report >>

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