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BNS or CM: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Banks - Foreign stocks have likely encountered both Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS - Free Report) and Canadian Imperial Bank (CM - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Bank of Nova Scotia and Canadian Imperial Bank are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. 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.

BNS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.94, while CM has a forward P/E of 10.40. We also note that BNS has a PEG ratio of 0.71. 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. CM currently has a PEG ratio of 0.98.

Another notable valuation metric for BNS is its P/B ratio of 1.45. 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, CM has a P/B of 1.68.

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

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


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Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) - free report >>

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