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AMG or BX: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Financial - Investment Management stocks have likely encountered both Affiliated Managers Group (AMG - Free Report) and Blackstone Group (BX - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Affiliated Managers Group is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Blackstone Group has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that AMG's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

AMG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.61, while BX has a forward P/E of 18.37. We also note that AMG has a PEG ratio of 0.56. 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. BX currently has a PEG ratio of 1.06.

Another notable valuation metric for AMG is its P/B ratio of 1.15. 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, BX has a P/B of 2.55.

These metrics, and several others, help AMG earn a Value grade of A, while BX has been given a Value grade of D.

AMG 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 AMG is likely the superior value option right now.


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