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BRC vs. ALLE: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Security and Safety Services stocks are likely familiar with Brady (BRC - Free Report) and Allegion (ALLE - Free Report) . 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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Brady and Allegion are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that BRC likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ALLE has recently. 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 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.

BRC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 20.60, while ALLE has a forward P/E of 26.65. We also note that BRC has a PEG ratio of 2.94. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. ALLE currently has a PEG ratio of 4.70.

Another notable valuation metric for BRC is its P/B ratio of 2.99. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, ALLE has a P/B of 17.

These metrics, and several others, help BRC earn a Value grade of B, while ALLE has been given a Value grade of C.

BRC sticks out from ALLE in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that BRC is the better option right now.


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