WTFC Or FIBK: Which Is The Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors with an interest in Banks - Midwest stocks have likely encountered both Wintrust Financial (WTFC) and First Interstate BancSystem (FIBK). 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Wintrust Financial has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while First Interstate BancSystem 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 WTFC is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when 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.

WTFC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.98, while FIBK has a forward P/E of 12.87. We also note that WTFC has a PEG ratio of 0.74. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. FIBK currently has a PEG ratio of 1.43.

Another notable valuation metric for WTFC is its P/B ratio of 1.18. 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, FIBK has a P/B of 1.43.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to WTFC's Value grade of A and FIBK's Value grade of C.

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