SAFE or IRT: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors interested in REIT and Equity Trust - Residential stocks are likely familiar with Safehold (SAFE) and Independence Realty Trust (IRT). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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.

Safehold has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Independence Realty Trust has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that SAFE has an improving earnings outlook. 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 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.

SAFE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.56, while IRT has a forward P/E of 12.77. We also note that SAFE has a PEG ratio of 1.37. 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. IRT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.62.

Another notable valuation metric for SAFE is its P/B ratio of 0.4. 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, IRT has a P/B of 1.01.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to SAFE's Value grade of B and IRT's Value grade of C.

SAFE 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 SAFE is likely the superior value option right now.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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