Investors looking for stocks in the Banks - Foreign sector might want to consider either Santander Mexico (BSMX Quick QuoteBSMX - Free Report) or Royal Bank (RY Quick QuoteRY - 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Santander Mexico has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Royal Bank has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that BSMX is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

BSMX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.05, while RY has a forward P/E of 11.99. We also note that BSMX has a PEG ratio of 1.91. 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. RY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.14.

Another notable valuation metric for BSMX is its P/B ratio of 1.26. 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, RY has a P/B of 2.01.

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

BSMX has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than RY, so it seems like value investors will conclude that BSMX is the superior option right now.