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EWBC vs. SIVB: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Banks - West stocks have likely encountered both East West Bancorp (EWBC - Free Report) and SVB Financial . 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 is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

East West Bancorp and SVB Financial are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that EWBC has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks 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.

EWBC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.44, while SIVB has a forward P/E of 14.15. We also note that EWBC has a PEG ratio of 1.04. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. SIVB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.77.

Another notable valuation metric for EWBC is its P/B ratio of 1.82. 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, SIVB has a P/B of 2.28.

These metrics, and several others, help EWBC earn a Value grade of B, while SIVB has been given a Value grade of C.

EWBC stands above SIVB thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that EWBC is the superior value option right now.


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