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BRG or MAA: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in REIT and Equity Trust - Residential stocks have likely encountered both Bluerock and Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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, Bluerock is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Mid-America Apartment Communities has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that BRG's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

BRG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.56, while MAA has a forward P/E of 16.55. We also note that BRG has a PEG ratio of 1.36. 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. MAA currently has a PEG ratio of 2.36.

Another notable valuation metric for BRG is its P/B ratio of 1.36. 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, MAA has a P/B of 1.77.

Based on these metrics and many more, BRG holds a Value grade of B, while MAA has a Value grade of D.

BRG has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than MAA, so it seems like value investors will conclude that BRG is the superior option right now.


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