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BRG vs. ELS: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the REIT and Equity Trust - Residential sector might want to consider either Bluerock or Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS - 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.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. 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.

Bluerock and Equity Lifestyle Properties are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that BRG is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

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.

BRG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.15, while ELS has a forward P/E of 30.11. We also note that BRG has a PEG ratio of 4.72. 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. ELS currently has a PEG ratio of 6.50.

Another notable valuation metric for BRG is its P/B ratio of 3.42. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ELS has a P/B of 9.93.

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

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


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