LXP Vs. HCP: Which Stock Is The Better Value Option?

Investors looking for stocks in the REIT and Equity Trust - Other sector might want to consider either Lexington Realty (LXP) or HCP (HCP). 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.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Lexington Realty has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while HCP has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that LXP is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

LXP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.82, while HCP has a forward P/E of 15.30. We also note that LXP has a PEG ratio of 3.62. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. HCP currently has a PEG ratio of 5.10.

Another notable valuation metric for LXP is its P/B ratio of 1.53. 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, HCP has a P/B of 2.32.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to LXP's Value grade of B and HCP's Value grade of D.

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