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BMO vs. IBN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Banks - Foreign stocks have likely encountered both Bank of Montreal (BMO - Free Report) and ICICI Bank Limited (IBN - 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.

Bank of Montreal and ICICI Bank Limited are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that BMO likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than IBN has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

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.

BMO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.79, while IBN has a forward P/E of 18.19. We also note that BMO has a PEG ratio of 1.04. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. IBN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.50.

Another notable valuation metric for BMO is its P/B ratio of 1.34. 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, IBN has a P/B of 2.71.

Based on these metrics and many more, BMO holds a Value grade of B, while IBN has a Value grade of D.

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


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