Investors interested in stocks from the Banks - West sector have probably already heard of First Hawaiian (FHB) and Bank of Hawaii (BOH). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, First Hawaiian is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Bank of Hawaii has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that FHB 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.

FHB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.49, while BOH has a forward P/E of 16.63. We also note that FHB has a PEG ratio of 2.70. 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. BOH currently has a PEG ratio of 5.02.

Another notable valuation metric for FHB is its P/B ratio of 1.11. 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, BOH has a P/B of 1.95.

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

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

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

Bank of Hawaii Corporation (BOH) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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