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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 presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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.

Erste Group Bank AG has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while HDFC Bank has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that EBKDY has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

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 12.54, while HDB has a forward P/E of 26.41. We also note that EBKDY has a PEG ratio of 0.58. 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. HDB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.22.

Another notable valuation metric for EBKDY is its P/B ratio of 0.57. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, HDB has a P/B of 4.87.

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

EBKDY has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than HDB, so it seems like value investors will conclude that EBKDY is the superior option right now.


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