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ZION vs. BOH: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Banks - West stocks are likely familiar with Zions (ZION - Free Report) and Bank of Hawaii (BOH - 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.

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.

Zions has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Bank of Hawaii has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ZION likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than BOH has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.

ZION currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.79, while BOH has a forward P/E of 20.82. We also note that ZION has a PEG ratio of 4.63. 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. BOH currently has a PEG ratio of 4.81.

Another notable valuation metric for ZION is its P/B ratio of 1.29. 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, BOH has a P/B of 2.20.

These metrics, and several others, help ZION earn a Value grade of B, while BOH has been given a Value grade of C.

ZION stands above BOH thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that ZION is the superior value option right now.


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Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (ZION) - free report >>

Bank of Hawaii Corporation (BOH) - free report >>

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