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IVZ vs. BLK: 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 BlackRock (BLK - 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.

Currently, Invesco has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while BlackRock has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). 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 piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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 9.27, while BLK has a forward P/E of 19.05. We also note that IVZ has a PEG ratio of 0.82. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. BLK currently has a PEG ratio of 1.74.

Another notable valuation metric for IVZ is its P/B ratio of 0.99. 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, BLK has a P/B of 3.02.

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

IVZ has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than BLK, so it seems like value investors will conclude that IVZ is the superior option right now.


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