Investors with an interest in REIT and Equity Trust - Other stocks have likely encountered both Cousins Properties (CUZ) and National Health Investors (NHI). But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.
Cousins Properties and National Health Investors are both sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.
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.
CUZ currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.76, while NHI has a forward P/E of 15.65. We also note that CUZ has a PEG ratio of 1.96. 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. NHI currently has a PEG ratio of 2.74.
Another notable valuation metric for CUZ is its P/B ratio of 0.9. 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, NHI has a P/B of 2.55.
These metrics, and several others, help CUZ earn a Value grade of B, while NHI has been given a Value grade of D.
Both CUZ and NHI are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that CUZ is the superior value option right now.
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Cousins Properties Incorporated (CUZ): Free Stock Analysis Report National Health Investors, Inc. (NHI): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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