ITUB vs. HDB: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors interested in Banks - Foreign stocks are likely familiar with Banco Itau (ITUB) and HDFC Bank (HDB). 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.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. 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 Itau and HDFC Bank are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that ITUB is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

ITUB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.68, while HDB has a forward P/E of 18.91. We also note that ITUB has a PEG ratio of 0.42. 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. HDB currently has a PEG ratio of 0.84.

Another notable valuation metric for ITUB is its P/B ratio of 1.30. 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, HDB has a P/B of 3.28.

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

ITUB sticks out from HDB in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that ITUB is the better option right now.

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Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (ITUB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
HDFC Bank Limited (HDB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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