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EBKDY vs. SMFG: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Banks - Foreign stocks are likely familiar with Erste Group Bank AG (EBKDY - Free Report) and Sumitomo Mitsui (SMFG - 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Erste Group Bank AG has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Sumitomo Mitsui has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that EBKDY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than SMFG has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks 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.

EBKDY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.46, while SMFG has a forward P/E of 8.89. We also note that EBKDY has a PEG ratio of 0.86. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. SMFG currently has a PEG ratio of 1.41.

Another notable valuation metric for EBKDY is its P/B ratio of 0.58. 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, SMFG has a P/B of 0.63.

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

EBKDY stands above SMFG thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that EBKDY is the superior value option right now.


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Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (SMFG) - free report >>

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