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AB vs. SEIC: 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 AllianceBernstein (AB - Free Report) or SEI Investments (SEIC - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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.

Both AllianceBernstein and SEI Investments have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. But this is only part of the picture 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 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 11.84, while SEIC has a forward P/E of 16.46. We also note that AB has a PEG ratio of 0.89. 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. SEIC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.37.

Another notable valuation metric for AB is its P/B ratio of 2.42. 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 metrics, and several others, help AB earn a Value grade of B, while SEIC has been given a Value grade of D.

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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