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NWG vs. HDB: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Banks - Foreign stocks have likely encountered both NatWest Group (NWG - Free Report) and HDFC Bank (HDB - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

NatWest Group and HDFC 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 NWG has an improving earnings outlook. 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 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.

NWG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.51, while HDB has a forward P/E of 21.68. We also note that NWG has a PEG ratio of 0.37. 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. HDB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.01.

Another notable valuation metric for NWG is its P/B ratio of 0.70. 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, HDB has a P/B of 3.53.

Based on these metrics and many more, NWG holds a Value grade of A, while HDB has a Value grade of D.

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


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