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APTS or AMH: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the REIT and Equity Trust - Residential sector might want to consider either Preferred Apartment Communities or American Homes 4 Rent (AMH - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

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.

Both Preferred Apartment Communities and American Homes 4 Rent 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 just one piece of the puzzle 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.

APTS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.35, while AMH has a forward P/E of 30.81. We also note that APTS has a PEG ratio of 1.91. 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. AMH currently has a PEG ratio of 3.

Another notable valuation metric for APTS is its P/B ratio of 0.71. 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, AMH has a P/B of 2.13.

These metrics, and several others, help APTS earn a Value grade of A, while AMH has been given a Value grade of D.

Both APTS and AMH are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that APTS is the superior value option right now.


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