Investors interested in stocks from the Banks - Southwest sector have probably already heard of First Horizon National (FHN) and Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Currently, both First Horizon National and Cullen/Frost Bankers are holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. 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.
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.
FHN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.31, while CFR has a forward P/E of 13.67. We also note that FHN has a PEG ratio of 0.88. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. CFR currently has a PEG ratio of 3.13.
Another notable valuation metric for FHN is its P/B ratio of 1.4. 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, CFR has a P/B of 1.99.
Based on these metrics and many more, FHN holds a Value grade of B, while CFR has a Value grade of C.
Both FHN and CFR are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that FHN is the superior value option right now.
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First Horizon Corporation (FHN): Free Stock Analysis Report Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (CFR): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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