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ATCO or TROW: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Financial - Investment Management sector have probably already heard of Atlas and T. Rowe Price (TROW - 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.

Right now, Atlas is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while T. Rowe Price has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ATCO likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than TROW has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks 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.

ATCO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.06, while TROW has a forward P/E of 15.63. We also note that ATCO has a PEG ratio of 0.29. 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. TROW currently has a PEG ratio of 1.74.

Another notable valuation metric for ATCO is its P/B ratio of 1.01. 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, TROW has a P/B of 5.42.

Based on these metrics and many more, ATCO holds a Value grade of A, while TROW has a Value grade of C.

ATCO 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 ATCO is likely the superior value option right now.


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