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EPR or FRT: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the REIT and Equity Trust - Retail sector might want to consider either EPR Properties (EPR - Free Report) or Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT - 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.

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 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.

Currently, EPR Properties has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Federal Realty Investment Trust has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that EPR has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

EPR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.58, while FRT has a forward P/E of 15.39. We also note that EPR has a PEG ratio of 2.17. 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. FRT currently has a PEG ratio of 2.86.

Another notable valuation metric for EPR is its P/B ratio of 1.95. 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, FRT has a P/B of 3.06.

These metrics, and several others, help EPR earn a Value grade of B, while FRT has been given a Value grade of C.

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

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