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TEF or TU: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Diversified Communication Services stocks have likely encountered both Telefonica (TEF - Free Report) and Telus (TU - 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.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Telefonica has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Telus has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that TEF is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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 Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

TEF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.03, while TU has a forward P/E of 24.68. We also note that TEF has a PEG ratio of 0.55. 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. TU currently has a PEG ratio of 2.79.

Another notable valuation metric for TEF is its P/B ratio of 0.69. 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, TU has a P/B of 2.13.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to TEF's Value grade of A and TU's Value grade of C.

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


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