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SHO vs. NHI: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in REIT and Equity Trust - Other stocks are likely familiar with Sunstone Hotel Investors (SHO - Free Report) and National Health Investors (NHI - 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.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Right now, Sunstone Hotel Investors is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while National Health Investors has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that SHO 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 also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.

SHO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.69, while NHI has a forward P/E of 15.70. We also note that SHO has a PEG ratio of 2.60. 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. NHI currently has a PEG ratio of 4.15.

Another notable valuation metric for SHO is its P/B ratio of 1.32. 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, NHI has a P/B of 2.43.

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

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

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