Investors looking for stocks in the Financial - Investment Management sector might want to consider either Patria Investments (PAX) or Apollo Global Management Inc. (APO). 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Currently, Patria Investments has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Apollo Global Management Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). This means that PAX'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 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 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.
PAX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.20, while APO has a forward P/E of 19.81. We also note that PAX has a PEG ratio of 0.69. 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. APO currently has a PEG ratio of 1.61.
Another notable valuation metric for PAX is its P/B ratio of 1.69. 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, APO has a P/B of 2.8.
Based on these metrics and many more, PAX holds a Value grade of A, while APO has a Value grade of D.
PAX is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that PAX is likely the superior value option right now.
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Patria Investments Limited (PAX): Free Stock Analysis Report Apollo Global Management Inc. (APO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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