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BMA vs. BSAC: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Banks - Foreign stocks have likely encountered both Banco Macro (BMA - Free Report) and Banco Santander-Chile (BSAC - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Banco Macro has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Banco Santander-Chile has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that BMA's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

BMA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.83, while BSAC has a forward P/E of 13.94. We also note that BMA has a PEG ratio of 0.50. 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. BSAC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.12.

Another notable valuation metric for BMA is its P/B ratio of 2.04. 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, BSAC has a P/B of 3.07.

Based on these metrics and many more, BMA holds a Value grade of A, while BSAC has a Value grade of D.

BMA sticks out from BSAC in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that BMA is the better option right now.


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Macro Bank Inc. (BMA) - free report >>

Banco Santander Chile (BSAC) - free report >>

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