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

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Investors interested in stocks from the Financial - Miscellaneous Services sector have probably already heard of CI Financial Corp. and Blackstone Inc. (BX - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 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.

Right now, CI Financial Corp. is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Blackstone Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that CIXX has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when 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 4.56, while BX has a forward P/E of 17.85. We also note that CIXX has a PEG ratio of 0.57. 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. BX currently has a PEG ratio of 1.75.

Another notable valuation metric for CIXX is its P/B ratio of 1.60. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, BX has a P/B of 3.22.

These metrics, and several others, help CIXX earn a Value grade of A, while BX has been given a Value grade of C.

CIXX 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 CIXX is likely the superior value option right now.


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