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PFG vs. TROW: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Financial - Investment Management stocks are likely familiar with Principal Financial (PFG - Free Report) and T. Rowe Price (TROW - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive 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.

Both Principal Financial and T. Rowe Price have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. 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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

PFG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.40, while TROW has a forward P/E of 13.61. We also note that PFG has a PEG ratio of 1.19. 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. TROW currently has a PEG ratio of 1.23.

Another notable valuation metric for PFG is its P/B ratio of 1.34. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, TROW has a P/B of 3.99.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PFG's Value grade of A and TROW's Value grade of C.

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


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T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) - free report >>

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG) - free report >>

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