WF vs. APO: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors with an interest in Financial - Investment Management stocks have likely encountered both Woori Bank (WF) and Apollo Global Management, LLC (APO). 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 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.

Currently, Woori Bank has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Apollo Global Management, LLC has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that WF's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

WF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.24, while APO has a forward P/E of 17.85. We also note that WF has a PEG ratio of 1.04. 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. APO currently has a PEG ratio of 3.19.

Another notable valuation metric for WF is its P/B ratio of 0.56. 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, APO has a P/B of 2.98.

These metrics, and several others, help WF earn a Value grade of A, while APO has been given a Value grade of C.

WF stands above APO thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that WF 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
 
Woori Bank (WF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Apollo Global Management, LLC (APO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.