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SAFE vs. ESS: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the REIT and Equity Trust - Residential sector have probably already heard of Safehold (SAFE - Free Report) and Essex Property Trust (ESS - 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Safehold and Essex Property Trust are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that SAFE's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

SAFE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.18, while ESS has a forward P/E of 16.02. We also note that SAFE has a PEG ratio of 1.33. 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. ESS currently has a PEG ratio of 6.21.

Another notable valuation metric for SAFE is its P/B ratio of 0.44. 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, ESS has a P/B of 2.84.

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

SAFE sticks out from ESS in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that SAFE is the better option right now.


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