Investors interested in stocks from the Banks - Foreign sector have probably already heard of Banco Santander-Brazil (BSBR) and Banco Macro (BMA). But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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.
Banco Santander-Brazil and Banco Macro are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that BSBR has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.
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.
BSBR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.95, while BMA has a forward P/E of 11.97. We also note that BSBR has a PEG ratio of 0.77. 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. BMA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.39.
Another notable valuation metric for BSBR is its P/B ratio of 1.12. 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, BMA has a P/B of 1.57.
These metrics, and several others, help BSBR earn a Value grade of A, while BMA has been given a Value grade of C.
BSBR stands above BMA thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that BSBR is the superior value option right now.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Banco Santander Brasil SA (BSBR): Free Stock Analysis Report Macro Bank Inc. (BMA): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
