Yahoo Finance BCS vs. UOVEY: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?
Investors looking for stocks in the Banks - Foreign sector might want to consider either Barclays (BCS) or United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOVEY). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.
Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. 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.
Barclays and United Overseas Bank Ltd. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that BCS is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.
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.
BCS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 4.98, while UOVEY has a forward P/E of 10.34. We also note that BCS has a PEG ratio of 0.16. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. UOVEY currently has a PEG ratio of 0.66.
Another notable valuation metric for BCS is its P/B ratio of 0.33. 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, UOVEY has a P/B of 1.
These metrics, and several others, help BCS earn a Value grade of A, while UOVEY has been given a Value grade of C.
BCS stands above UOVEY thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that BCS is the superior value option right now.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Barclays PLC (BCS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOVEY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
