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PECO or REG: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the REIT and Equity Trust - Retail sector have probably already heard of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (PECO - Free Report) and Regency Centers (REG - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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 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.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Regency Centers has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that PECO's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

PECO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.35, while REG has a forward P/E of 15.69. We also note that PECO has a PEG ratio of 2.06. 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. REG currently has a PEG ratio of 3.18.

Another notable valuation metric for PECO is its P/B ratio of 1.92. 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, REG has a P/B of 2.02.

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

PECO 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 PECO is likely the superior value option right now.

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