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GEO vs. EGP: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the REIT and Equity Trust - Other sector might want to consider either Geo Group (GEO - Free Report) or EastGroup Properties (EGP - 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 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.

Right now, Geo Group is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while EastGroup Properties has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). This means that GEO's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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 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.

GEO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 2.88, while EGP has a forward P/E of 28.41. We also note that GEO has a PEG ratio of 0.29. 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. EGP currently has a PEG ratio of 4.27.

Another notable valuation metric for GEO 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 4.93.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to GEO's Value grade of A and EGP's Value grade of D.

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


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EastGroup Properties, Inc. (EGP) - free report >>

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