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IVZ vs. BX: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Financial - Investment Management sector might want to consider either Invesco (IVZ - Free Report) or Blackstone Group (BX - 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.

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 is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Invesco has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Blackstone Group has 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 IVZ has an improving earnings outlook. 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.

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.

IVZ currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.51, while BX has a forward P/E of 22.30. We also note that IVZ has a PEG ratio of 0.76. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. BX currently has a PEG ratio of 1.53.

Another notable valuation metric for IVZ is its P/B ratio of 0.97. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, BX has a P/B of 3.56.

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

IVZ is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that IVZ is likely the superior value option right now.


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