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EPR vs. REG: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the REIT and Equity Trust - Retail sector have probably already heard of EPR Properties (EPR - Free Report) and Regency Centers (REG - 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, EPR Properties is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Regency Centers has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that EPR is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture 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.

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.

EPR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.64, while REG has a forward P/E of 15.66. We also note that EPR has a PEG ratio of 2.14. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. REG currently has a PEG ratio of 4.57.

Another notable valuation metric for EPR is its P/B ratio of 1.95. 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, REG has a P/B of 2.03.

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

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

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