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BMO vs. RY: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Banks - Foreign stocks have likely encountered both Bank of Montreal (BMO - Free Report) and Royal Bank (RY - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

BMO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.73, while RY has a forward P/E of 12.46. We also note that BMO has a PEG ratio of 1.35. 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. RY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.66.

Another notable valuation metric for BMO is its P/B ratio of 1.35. 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, RY has a P/B of 1.98.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to BMO's Value grade of B and RY's Value grade of C.

Both BMO and RY are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that BMO is the superior value option right now.


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