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BMO vs. WBK: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Banks - Foreign stocks are likely familiar with Bank of Montreal (BMO - Free Report) and Westpac Banking Corporation . 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Bank of Montreal is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Westpac Banking Corporation has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that BMO is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when 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.

BMO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.65, while WBK has a forward P/E of 13.60. We also note that BMO has a PEG ratio of 2.18. 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. WBK currently has a PEG ratio of 9.07.

Another notable valuation metric for BMO is its P/B ratio of 1.44. 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, WBK has a P/B of 1.46.

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

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


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