IX vs. SLFPY: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Investors looking for stocks in the Financial - Miscellaneous Services sector might want to consider either Orix (IX) or Standard Life PLC Unsponsored ADR (SLFPY). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Orix is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Standard Life PLC Unsponsored ADR has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that IX is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

IX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.03, while SLFPY has a forward P/E of 15.94. We also note that IX has a PEG ratio of 0.84. 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. SLFPY currently has a PEG ratio of 5.49.

Another notable valuation metric for IX is its P/B ratio of 0.73. 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, SLFPY has a P/B of 0.91.

Based on these metrics and many more, IX holds a Value grade of A, while SLFPY has a Value grade of F.

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

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