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CIXX or AXP: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Financial - Miscellaneous Services stocks are likely familiar with CI Financial Corp. and American Express (AXP - 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.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

CI Financial Corp. has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while American Express has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that CIXX likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than AXP has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

CIXX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.74, while AXP has a forward P/E of 22.06. We also note that CIXX has a PEG ratio of 0.97. 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. AXP currently has a PEG ratio of 1.63.

Another notable valuation metric for CIXX is its P/B ratio of 2.99. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, AXP has a P/B of 5.50.

Based on these metrics and many more, CIXX holds a Value grade of B, while AXP has a Value grade of C.

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


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