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ACBI vs. TCF: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Banks - Northeast stocks are likely familiar with Atlantic Capital Bancshares and TCF Financial . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, both Atlantic Capital Bancshares and TCF Financial are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

ACBI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.27, while TCF has a forward P/E of 15.19. We also note that ACBI has a PEG ratio of 0.86. 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. TCF currently has a PEG ratio of 1.54.

Another notable valuation metric for ACBI is its P/B ratio of 1.22. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, TCF has a P/B of 1.24.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ACBI's Value grade of A and TCF's Value grade of D.

Both ACBI and TCF are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that ACBI is the superior value option right now.

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