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BSAC vs. IBN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Banks - Foreign sector have probably already heard of Banco Santander-Chile (BSAC - Free Report) and ICICI Bank Limited (IBN - 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.

Banco Santander-Chile has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while ICICI Bank Limited has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that BSAC has an improving earnings 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 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.

BSAC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.11, while IBN has a forward P/E of 19.58. We also note that BSAC has a PEG ratio of 0.42. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. IBN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.14.

Another notable valuation metric for BSAC is its P/B ratio of 2.04. 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, IBN has a P/B of 3.02.

Based on these metrics and many more, BSAC holds a Value grade of B, while IBN has a Value grade of D.

BSAC 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 BSAC is likely the superior value option right now.


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