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ITUB vs. HDB: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Banks - Foreign stocks are likely familiar with Banco Itau (ITUB - 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Banco Itau has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while HDFC Bank has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that ITUB is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

ITUB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.33, while HDB has a forward P/E of 20.59. We also note that ITUB has a PEG ratio of 0.87. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. HDB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.44.

Another notable valuation metric for ITUB is its P/B ratio of 1.76. 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, HDB has a P/B of 1.93.

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

ITUB sticks out from HDB in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that ITUB is the better option right now.


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HDFC Bank Limited (HDB) - free report >>

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (ITUB) - free report >>

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