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WF or APO: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Financial - Investment Management stocks are likely familiar with Woori Bank (WF - Free Report) and Apollo Global Management, LLC (APO - 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Woori Bank has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Apollo Global Management, LLC has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that WF has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

WF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.17, while APO has a forward P/E of 21.95. We also note that WF has a PEG ratio of 0.86. 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. APO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.20.

Another notable valuation metric for WF is its P/B ratio of 0.49. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, APO has a P/B of 1.98.

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

WF 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 WF is likely the superior value option right now.


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