Investors looking for stocks in the Banks - Northeast sector might want to consider either Peapack-Gladstone (PGC Quick QuotePGC - Free Report) or Atlantic Capital Bancshares . 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Both Peapack-Gladstone and Atlantic Capital Bancshares have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. 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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

PGC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.77, while ACBI has a forward P/E of 16.29. We also note that PGC has a PEG ratio of 0.93. 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. ACBI currently has a PEG ratio of 1.14.

Another notable valuation metric for PGC is its P/B ratio of 1.14. 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, ACBI has a P/B of 1.61.

Based on these metrics and many more, PGC holds a Value grade of B, while ACBI has a Value grade of D.

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