NYCB Vs. NFBK: Which Stock Is The Better Value Option?

Investors with an interest in Financial - Savings and Loan stocks have likely encountered both New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) and Northfield Bancorp (NFBK). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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, New York Community Bancorp is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Northfield Bancorp has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that NYCB's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.

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.

NYCB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.61, while NFBK has a forward P/E of 18.12. We also note that NYCB has a PEG ratio of 1.46. 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. NFBK currently has a PEG ratio of 2.26.

Another notable valuation metric for NYCB is its P/B ratio of 0.93. 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, NFBK has a P/B of 1.04.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to NYCB's Value grade of B and NFBK's Value grade of D.

NYCB stands above NFBK thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that NYCB is the superior value option right now.