Investors interested in Banks - Northeast stocks are likely familiar with Peapack-Gladstone (PGC Quick QuotePGC - Free Report) and Signature Bank (SBNY Quick QuoteSBNY - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Peapack-Gladstone is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Signature Bank has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that PGC is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

PGC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.76, while SBNY has a forward P/E of 18.70. We also note that PGC has a PEG ratio of 0.77. 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. SBNY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.97.

Another notable valuation metric for PGC is its P/B ratio of 1.17. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, SBNY has a P/B of 1.92.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PGC's Value grade of B and SBNY's Value grade of D.

PGC is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that PGC is likely the superior value option right now.