Investors interested in stocks from the Banks - West sector have probably already heard of Zions (ZION) and First Hawaiian (FHB). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 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.

Right now, both Zions and First Hawaiian are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

ZION currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.74, while FHB has a forward P/E of 12.86. We also note that ZION has a PEG ratio of 1.37. 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. FHB currently has a PEG ratio of 3.02.

Another notable valuation metric for ZION is its P/B ratio of 1.15. 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, FHB has a P/B of 1.24.

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

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

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Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (ZION) : Free Stock Analysis Report

First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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