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BPOP vs. FBP: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Banks - Southeast stocks have likely encountered both Popular (BPOP - Free Report) and First Bancorp (FBP - 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 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.

Popular has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while First Bancorp has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that BPOP has an improving earnings outlook. 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 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.

BPOP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.85, while FBP has a forward P/E of 11.87. We also note that BPOP has a PEG ratio of 0.82. 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. FBP currently has a PEG ratio of 1.71.

Another notable valuation metric for BPOP is its P/B ratio of 1.39. 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, FBP has a P/B of 2.36.

These metrics, and several others, help BPOP earn a Value grade of B, while FBP has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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