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FHI vs. SEIC: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Financial - Investment Management stocks have likely encountered both Federated Hermes (FHI - Free Report) and SEI Investments (SEIC - 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.

Currently, Federated Hermes has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while SEI Investments 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 FHI 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 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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

FHI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.21, while SEIC has a forward P/E of 16.93. We also note that FHI has a PEG ratio of 0.83. 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. SEIC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.41.

Another notable valuation metric for FHI is its P/B ratio of 2.13. 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, SEIC has a P/B of 4.14.

Based on these metrics and many more, FHI holds a Value grade of A, while SEIC has a Value grade of C.

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


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