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LYG or EBKDY: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Banks - Foreign sector might want to consider either Lloyds (LYG - Free Report) or Erste Group Bank AG (EBKDY - 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.

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.

Lloyds and Erste Group Bank AG are both sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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 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.

LYG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.52, while EBKDY has a forward P/E of 11.70. We also note that LYG has a PEG ratio of 0.70. 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. EBKDY currently has a PEG ratio of 0.98.

Another notable valuation metric for LYG is its P/B ratio of 1.09. 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, EBKDY has a P/B of 1.28.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to LYG's Value grade of B and EBKDY's Value grade of D.

Both LYG and EBKDY are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that LYG is the superior value option right now.


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Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) - free report >>

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