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MFG or NABZY: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Banks - Foreign stocks have likely encountered both Mizuho (MFG - Free Report) and National Australia Bank Ltd. (NABZY - 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.

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

Currently, both Mizuho and National Australia Bank Ltd. are holding a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). 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 only part of the picture 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 highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

MFG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.13, while NABZY has a forward P/E of 15.35. We also note that MFG has a PEG ratio of 0.74. 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. NABZY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.93.

Another notable valuation metric for MFG is its P/B ratio of 0.43. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, NABZY has a P/B of 1.62.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to MFG's Value grade of B and NABZY's Value grade of F.

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


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Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (MFG) - free report >>

National Australia Bank Ltd. (NABZY) - free report >>

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