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BSAC 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 Banco Santander-Chile (BSAC - Free Report) and ICICI Bank Limited (IBN - 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Banco Santander-Chile and ICICI Bank Limited are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that BSAC likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than IBN has recently. But this is only part of the picture 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.

BSAC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.08, while IBN has a forward P/E of 20.81. We also note that BSAC has a PEG ratio of 0.74. 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. IBN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.24.

Another notable valuation metric for BSAC is its P/B ratio of 2.57. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, IBN has a P/B of 3.15.

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

BSAC stands above IBN thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that BSAC is the superior value option right now.


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