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BRC vs. ALLE: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Security and Safety Services sector might want to consider either Brady (BRC - Free Report) or Allegion (ALLE - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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.

Brady and Allegion are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that BRC's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

BRC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.52, while ALLE has a forward P/E of 15.18. We also note that BRC has a PEG ratio of 1.93. 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. ALLE currently has a PEG ratio of 2.56.

Another notable valuation metric for BRC is its P/B ratio of 2.63. 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, ALLE has a P/B of 7.42.

These metrics, and several others, help BRC earn a Value grade of B, while ALLE has been given a Value grade of C.

BRC 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 BRC is likely the superior value option right now.


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