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Investors interested in stocks from the REIT and Equity Trust - Other sector have probably already heard of Alpine Income (PINE) and EastGroup Properties (EGP). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.
We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Alpine Income and EastGroup Properties are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that PINE'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 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.
PINE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.56, while EGP has a forward P/E of 20.59. We also note that PINE has a PEG ratio of 1.76. 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. EGP currently has a PEG ratio of 2.56.
Another notable valuation metric for PINE is its P/B ratio of 0.92. 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 2.99.
These metrics, and several others, help PINE earn a Value grade of B, while EGP has been given a Value grade of D.
PINE sticks out from EGP in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that PINE is the better option right now.
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Alpine Income Property Trust, Inc. (PINE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
EastGroup Properties, Inc. (EGP) : Free Stock Analysis Report