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HSBC vs. NABZY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Banks - Foreign stocks have likely encountered both HSBC (HSBC - 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.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive 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, HSBC has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while National Australia Bank Ltd. has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that HSBC is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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 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.

HSBC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.60, while NABZY has a forward P/E of 12.63. We also note that HSBC has a PEG ratio of 0.25. 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. NABZY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.96.

Another notable valuation metric for HSBC is its P/B ratio of 0.84. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, NABZY has a P/B of 1.37.

These metrics, and several others, help HSBC earn a Value grade of A, while NABZY has been given a Value grade of D.

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


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

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