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ZION vs. BOH: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Banks - West sector have probably already heard of Zions (ZION - Free Report) and Bank of Hawaii (BOH - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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.

Right now, Zions is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Bank of Hawaii has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ZION likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than BOH has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

ZION currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.77, while BOH has a forward P/E of 15.01. We also note that ZION has a PEG ratio of 1.38. 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. BOH currently has a PEG ratio of 2.

Another notable valuation metric for ZION is its P/B ratio of 1.33. 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, BOH has a P/B of 2.64.

Based on these metrics and many more, ZION holds a Value grade of B, while BOH has a Value grade of C.

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


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Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (ZION) - free report >>

Bank of Hawaii Corporation (BOH) - free report >>

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