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UMBF vs. CBSH: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Banks - Midwest sector have probably already heard of UMB Financial (UMBF - Free Report) and Commerce Bancshares (CBSH - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

UMB Financial and Commerce Bancshares are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that UMBF's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks 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.

UMBF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.56, while CBSH has a forward P/E of 12.17. We also note that UMBF has a PEG ratio of 0.82. 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. CBSH currently has a PEG ratio of 2.50.

Another notable valuation metric for UMBF is its P/B ratio of 1.18. 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, CBSH has a P/B of 1.73.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to UMBF's Value grade of B and CBSH's Value grade of C.

UMBF sticks out from CBSH in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that UMBF is the better option right now.

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