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Are These Finance Stocks a Great Value Stocks Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Summit Financial Group (SMMF - Free Report) . SMMF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 7.94. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.28. Over the last 12 months, SMMF's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.56 and as low as 7.36, with a median of 8.52.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is SMMF's P/B ratio of 1.14. 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. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.82. Within the past 52 weeks, SMMF's P/B has been as high as 1.25 and as low as 0.92, with a median of 1.09.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. SMMF has a P/S ratio of 2.47. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.27.

Finally, we should also recognize that SMMF has a P/CF ratio of 6.58. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 16.48. Over the past 52 weeks, SMMF's P/CF has been as high as 9.36 and as low as 5.74, with a median of 6.78.

Investors could also keep in mind South Plains Financial (SPFI - Free Report) , an Banks - Southeast stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Furthermore, South Plains Financial holds a P/B ratio of 1.26 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 1.82. SPFI's P/B has been as high as 1.32, as low as 0.93, with a median of 1.12 over the past 12 months.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Summit Financial Group and South Plains Financial are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, SMMF and SPFI feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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Summit Financial Group, Inc. (SMMF) - free report >>

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