Investors interested in stocks from the Banks - Foreign sector have probably already heard of Sumitomo Mitsui (SMFG) and National Australia Bank Ltd. (NABZY). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.
The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.
Both Sumitomo Mitsui and National Australia Bank Ltd. have a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.
Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.
SMFG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.13, while NABZY has a forward P/E of 18.71. We also note that SMFG has a PEG ratio of 0.80. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. NABZY currently has a PEG ratio of 9.90.
Another notable valuation metric for SMFG is its P/B ratio of 1.07. 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, NABZY has a P/B of 2.21.
These metrics, and several others, help SMFG earn a Value grade of B, while NABZY has been given a Value grade of D.
Both SMFG and NABZY are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that SMFG is the superior value option right now.
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Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (SMFG): Free Stock Analysis Report National Australia Bank Ltd. (NABZY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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