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

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Investors looking for stocks in the Banks - Foreign sector might want to consider either Woori Bank (WF - Free Report) or HDFC Bank (HDB - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Woori Bank and HDFC Bank are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that WF likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than HDB has recently. But this is only part of the picture 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.

WF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 3.83, while HDB has a forward P/E of 21.15. We also note that WF has a PEG ratio of 0.34. 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 1.77.

Another notable valuation metric for WF is its P/B ratio of 0.32. 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 2.85.

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

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


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