Investors interested in stocks from the Banks - Foreign sector have probably already heard of The Bank of East Asia Ltd. (BKEAY) and HDFC Bank (HDB). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.
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.
Right now, The Bank of East Asia Ltd. is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while HDFC Bank has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that BKEAY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than HDB 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.
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.
BKEAY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.27, while HDB has a forward P/E of 14.36. We also note that BKEAY has a PEG ratio of 0.29. 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. HDB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.13.
Another notable valuation metric for BKEAY is its P/B ratio of 0.4. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, HDB has a P/B of 1.83.
These metrics, and several others, help BKEAY earn a Value grade of A, while HDB has been given a Value grade of F.
BKEAY stands above HDB thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that BKEAY is the superior value option right now.
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See Stocks Now >>The Bank of East Asia Ltd. (BKEAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
HDFC Bank Limited (HDB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
