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DEI vs. NNN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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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 NNN REIT (NNN - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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.

Douglas Emmett has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while NNN REIT has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that DEI has an improving earnings outlook. 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 highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

DEI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.58, while NNN has a forward P/E of 13.81. We also note that DEI has a PEG ratio of 6.31. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. NNN currently has a PEG ratio of 7.43.

Another notable valuation metric for DEI is its P/B ratio of 0.59. 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, NNN has a P/B of 2.13.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to DEI's Value grade of A and NNN's Value grade of C.

DEI is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that DEI is likely the superior value option right now.

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