DHC Or VTR: Which Is The Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors interested in stocks from the REIT and Equity Trust - Other sector have probably already heard of Diversified Healthcare (DHC) and Ventas (VTR). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Diversified Healthcare and Ventas are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that DHC likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than VTR has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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 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.

DHC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.41, while VTR has a forward P/E of 15.67. We also note that DHC has a PEG ratio of 1.85. 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. VTR currently has a PEG ratio of 6.65.

Another notable valuation metric for DHC is its P/B ratio of 0.67. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, VTR has a P/B of 2.02.

These metrics, and several others, help DHC earn a Value grade of A, while VTR has been given a Value grade of D.

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