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SHO vs. EGP: 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 EastGroup Properties (EGP - 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.

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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Sunstone Hotel Investors has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while EastGroup Properties has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that SHO's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.

SHO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.63, while EGP has a forward P/E of 20.71. We also note that SHO has a PEG ratio of 2.18. 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. EGP currently has a PEG ratio of 3.99.

Another notable valuation metric for SHO is its P/B ratio of 1.43. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, EGP has a P/B of 3.

Based on these metrics and many more, SHO holds a Value grade of B, while EGP has a Value grade of D.

SHO sticks out from EGP in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that SHO is the better option right now.

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