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BEN or BLK: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Financial - Investment Management sector might want to consider either Franklin Resources (BEN - Free Report) or BlackRock (BLK - 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.

Both Franklin Resources and BlackRock have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies 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 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.

BEN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.83, while BLK has a forward P/E of 20.14. We also note that BEN has a PEG ratio of 1.39. 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. BLK currently has a PEG ratio of 2.03.

Another notable valuation metric for BEN is its P/B ratio of 1.13. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, BLK has a P/B of 3.07.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to BEN's Value grade of B and BLK's Value grade of D.

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


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Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) - free report >>

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