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FII or EV: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Financial - Investment Management stocks are likely familiar with Federated Investors and Eaton Vance (EV - 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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Federated Investors and Eaton Vance are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that FII likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than EV has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

FII currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.44, while EV has a forward P/E of 13.41. We also note that FII has a PEG ratio of 1.51. 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. EV currently has a PEG ratio of 2.45.

Another notable valuation metric for FII is its P/B ratio of 3.40. 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, EV has a P/B of 4.56.

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

FII stands above EV thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that FII is the superior value option right now.


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