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BAP vs. HDB: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Banks - Foreign sector have probably already heard of Credicorp (BAP - Free Report) and HDFC Bank (HDB - Free Report) . 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Credicorp and HDFC Bank are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. 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.

BAP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.12, while HDB has a forward P/E of 19.13. We also note that BAP has a PEG ratio of 0.45. 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. HDB currently has a PEG ratio of 0.99.

Another notable valuation metric for BAP is its P/B ratio of 1.38. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, HDB has a P/B of 3.42.

Based on these metrics and many more, BAP holds a Value grade of A, while HDB has a Value grade of C.

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


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