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WTFC vs. LKFN: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?
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Investors interested in Banks - Midwest stocks are likely familiar with Wintrust Financial (WTFC - Free Report) and Lakeland Financial (LKFN - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.
Currently, both Wintrust Financial and Lakeland Financial are holding a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). 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 just one factor that value investors are interested in.
Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.
WTFC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.75, while LKFN has a forward P/E of 16.02. We also note that WTFC has a PEG ratio of 1.09. 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. LKFN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.60.
Another notable valuation metric for WTFC is its P/B ratio of 1.68. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, LKFN has a P/B of 2.55.
These metrics, and several others, help WTFC earn a Value grade of B, while LKFN has been given a Value grade of C.
Both WTFC and LKFN are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that WTFC is the superior value option right now.
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WTFC vs. LKFN: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?
Investors interested in Banks - Midwest stocks are likely familiar with Wintrust Financial (WTFC - Free Report) and Lakeland Financial (LKFN - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.
Currently, both Wintrust Financial and Lakeland Financial are holding a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). 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 just one factor that value investors are interested in.
Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.
WTFC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.75, while LKFN has a forward P/E of 16.02. We also note that WTFC has a PEG ratio of 1.09. 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. LKFN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.60.
Another notable valuation metric for WTFC is its P/B ratio of 1.68. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, LKFN has a P/B of 2.55.
These metrics, and several others, help WTFC earn a Value grade of B, while LKFN has been given a Value grade of C.
Both WTFC and LKFN are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that WTFC is the superior value option right now.