Investors with an interest in Banks - Major Regional stocks have likely encountered both U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB). 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 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.

Currently, U.S. Bancorp has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Fifth Third Bancorp has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that USB has an improving earnings outlook. 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.

USB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.12, while FITB has a forward P/E of 12.27. We also note that USB has a PEG ratio of 1.80. 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. FITB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.93.

Another notable valuation metric for USB is its P/B ratio of 1.44. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, FITB has a P/B of 1.61.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to USB's Value grade of B and FITB's Value grade of C.

USB is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that USB is likely the superior value option right now.

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