PFSI vs. TSLX: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Investors with an interest in Financial – Mortgage & Related Services stocks have likely encountered both PennyMac Financial (PFSI) and TPG Specialty (TSLX). 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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, PennyMac Financial has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while TPG Specialty has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that PFSI likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than TSLX has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

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.

PFSI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.01, while TSLX has a forward P/E of 10.59. We also note that PFSI has a PEG ratio of 0.80. 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. TSLX currently has a PEG ratio of 10.59.

Another notable valuation metric for PFSI is its P/B ratio of 1.11. 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, TSLX has a P/B of 1.19.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PFSI’s Value grade of A and TSLX’s Value grade of F.

PFSI stands above TSLX thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that PFSI is the superior value option right now.

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