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DEI or CUBE: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the REIT and Equity Trust - Other sector have probably already heard of Douglas Emmett (DEI - Free Report) and CubeSmart (CUBE - 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Douglas Emmett and CubeSmart are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that DEI is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

DEI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.13, while CUBE has a forward P/E of 15.70. We also note that DEI has a PEG ratio of 5.98. 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. CUBE currently has a PEG ratio of 7.00.

Another notable valuation metric for DEI is its P/B ratio of 0.56. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, CUBE has a P/B of 3.44.

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

DEI has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than CUBE, so it seems like value investors will conclude that DEI is the superior option right now.

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