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BEN vs. BLK: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Financial - Investment Management stocks have likely encountered both Franklin Resources (BEN - Free Report) and BlackRock (BLK - 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.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Franklin Resources and BlackRock are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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 9.82, while BLK has a forward P/E of 18.17. We also note that BEN has a PEG ratio of 1.30. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. BLK currently has a PEG ratio of 1.55.

Another notable valuation metric for BEN is its P/B ratio of 1.03. 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, BLK has a P/B of 2.82.

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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