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LYG vs. BNS: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Banks - Foreign sector might want to consider either Lloyds (LYG - Free Report) or Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS - Free Report) . 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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Currently, Lloyds has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Bank of Nova Scotia has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that LYG's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.

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.

LYG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.05, while BNS has a forward P/E of 10.70. We also note that LYG has a PEG ratio of 0.19. 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. BNS currently has a PEG ratio of 0.76.

Another notable valuation metric for LYG is its P/B ratio of 0.64. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, BNS has a P/B of 1.49.

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

LYG sticks out from BNS in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that LYG is the better option right now.


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Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) - free report >>

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (BNS) - free report >>

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