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AB vs. BLK: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Financial - Investment Management stocks are likely familiar with AllianceBernstein (AB - Free Report) and BlackRock (BLK - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

AllianceBernstein and BlackRock are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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 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.

AB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.95, while BLK has a forward P/E of 20.47. We also note that AB has a PEG ratio of 0.71. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. BLK currently has a PEG ratio of 2.05.

Another notable valuation metric for AB is its P/B ratio of 1.66. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, BLK has a P/B of 2.55.

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

Both AB and BLK are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that AB is the superior value option right now.


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