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TEF vs. TU: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Diversified Communication Services sector have probably already heard of Telefonica (TEF - Free Report) and Telus (TU - 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.

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 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.

Telefonica and Telus are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that TEF likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than TU has recently. 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 Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

TEF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.22, while TU has a forward P/E of 21.25. We also note that TEF has a PEG ratio of 0.83. 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. TU currently has a PEG ratio of 5.05.

Another notable valuation metric for TEF is its P/B ratio of 1.2. 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, TU has a P/B of 2.08.

Based on these metrics and many more, TEF holds a Value grade of A, while TU has a Value grade of C.

TEF is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that TEF is likely the superior value option right now.


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