WF or UOVEY: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors interested in stocks from the Banks - Foreign sector have probably already heard of Woori Bank (WF) and United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOVEY). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Woori Bank and United Overseas Bank Ltd. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that WF 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 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.

WF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.62, while UOVEY has a forward P/E of 10.70. We also note that WF has a PEG ratio of 0.67. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. UOVEY currently has a PEG ratio of 0.89.

Another notable valuation metric for WF is its P/B ratio of 0.61. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, UOVEY has a P/B of 1.2.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to WF's Value grade of A and UOVEY's Value grade of C.

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

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Woori Bank (WF): Free Stock Analysis Report

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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