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BCS vs. TD: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Banks - Foreign stocks are likely familiar with Barclays (BCS - Free Report) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD - 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.

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 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.

Barclays and Toronto-Dominion Bank 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 BCS 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.

BCS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.11, while TD has a forward P/E of 10.46. We also note that BCS has a PEG ratio of 0.17. 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. TD currently has a PEG ratio of 1.34.

Another notable valuation metric for BCS is its P/B ratio of 0.40. 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, TD has a P/B of 1.65.

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

BCS 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 BCS is likely the superior value option right now.


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