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LYG or CM: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Banks - Foreign sector have probably already heard of Lloyds (LYG - Free Report) and Canadian Imperial Bank (CM - 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Lloyds is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Canadian Imperial Bank has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that LYG's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst 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.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

LYG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.01, while CM has a forward P/E of 10.53. We also note that LYG has a PEG ratio of 0.91. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. CM currently has a PEG ratio of 1.30.

Another notable valuation metric for LYG is its P/B ratio of 0.95. 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, CM has a P/B of 1.40.

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

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


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Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) - free report >>

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