Investors interested in Banks - Midwest stocks are likely familiar with Associated Banc-Corp (ASB) and Commerce Bancshares (CBSH). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Associated Banc-Corp and Commerce Bancshares are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. But this is only part of the picture 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.

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.

ASB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.08, while CBSH has a forward P/E of 16.27. We also note that ASB has a PEG ratio of 0.97. 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. CBSH currently has a PEG ratio of 2.10.

Another notable valuation metric for ASB is its P/B ratio of 0.85. 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, CBSH has a P/B of 2.47.

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

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

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Associated Banc-Corp (ASB) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (CBSH) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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