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GS vs. SCHW: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Financial - Investment Bank sector might want to consider either Goldman Sachs (GS - Free Report) or The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive 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.

Goldman Sachs and The Charles Schwab Corporation are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

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.

GS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.89, while SCHW has a forward P/E of 23.88. We also note that GS has a PEG ratio of 0.88. 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. SCHW currently has a PEG ratio of 1.05.

Another notable valuation metric for GS is its P/B ratio of 1.38. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, SCHW has a P/B of 3.46.

These metrics, and several others, help GS earn a Value grade of B, while SCHW has been given a Value grade of D.

Both GS and SCHW are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that GS is the superior value option right now.


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The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) - free report >>

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