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EBKDY or HDB: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Banks - Foreign stocks are likely familiar with Erste Group Bank AG (EBKDY - Free Report) and HDFC Bank (HDB - 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.

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

Right now, Erste Group Bank AG is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while HDFC Bank 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 EBKDY is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

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.

EBKDY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.19, while HDB has a forward P/E of 25.78. We also note that EBKDY has a PEG ratio of 0.70. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. HDB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.08.

Another notable valuation metric for EBKDY is its P/B ratio of 0.71. 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, HDB has a P/B of 4.86.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to EBKDY's Value grade of A and HDB's Value grade of C.

EBKDY is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that EBKDY is likely the superior value option right now.


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