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First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (FCF) - free report >>
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First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (FCF) - free report >>
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ICBK vs. FCF: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
Investors with an interest in Banks - Northeast stocks have likely encountered both County Bancorp and First Commonwealth Financial (FCF - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.
We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
County Bancorp has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while First Commonwealth Financial has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that ICBK has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.
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.
ICBK currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.48, while FCF has a forward P/E of 12.56. We also note that ICBK has a PEG ratio of 1.06. 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. FCF currently has a PEG ratio of 1.57.
Another notable valuation metric for ICBK is its P/B ratio of 0.83. 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, FCF has a P/B of 1.35.
These metrics, and several others, help ICBK earn a Value grade of A, while FCF has been given a Value grade of C.
ICBK sticks out from FCF in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that ICBK is the better option right now.