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Can Value Investors Consider First Mid-Illinois (FMBH) Stock?
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Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?
One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc. (FMBH - Free Report) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:
PE Ratio
A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.
On this front, First Mid-Illinois has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 12.09, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 17.67. Also, if we focus on the long-term PE trend, First Mid-Illinois’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint of 14.41 over the past five years.
Also, the stock’s PE compares favorably with the Finance Market’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 13.73. This indicates that the stock is quite undervalued right now, compared to its peers.
Moreover, First Mid-Illinois has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 11.56, which is slightly lower than the current level. So, it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for First Mid-Illinois stock in the near term too.
P/CF Ratio
An often-overlooked ratio that can still be a great indicator of value is the price/cash flow metric. This ratio doesn’t take amortization and depreciation into account, so can give a more accurate picture of the financial health in a business. This is a preferred metric to some valuation investors because cash flows are (a) generally less prone to manipulation by the company’s management, and (b) are less affected by variation in accounting policies between different companies.
The ratio is generally applied to find out whether a company’s stock is overpriced or underpriced with reference to its cash flows generation potential compared with its competitors. However, it is not commonly used for cross-industry comparison, as the average price to cash flow ratio varies from industry to industry.
In this case, First Mid-Illinois’s P/CF ratio of 11.94 is higher than the Zacks Banks-Northeast Market’s average of 9.98, which indicates that the stock is somewhat overvalued in this respect.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, First Mid-Illinois currently has a Value Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes First Mid-Illinois a solid choice for value investors.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though First Mid-Illinois might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of B and a Momentum Score of B. This gives FMBH a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)
Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. The current quarter has seen three upward and no downward revisions in the past sixty days, while the full year estimate has seen two upward revisions versus one downward revision in the same time period.
This has had a positive impact on the consensus estimate as the current quarter consensus estimate has shot up 5.7% over the past two months, while the full year estimate has increased 1.4%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:
First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc. Price and Consensus
Despite the bullish analyst sentiments, the stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.
Bottom Line
First Mid-Illinois is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a sluggish industry rank (among Bottom 29% of more than 250 industries) and a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about the stock.
In fact, over the past two years, the broader industry has clearly underperformed the market at large, as you can see below:
So, value investors might want to wait for the rank and industry performance to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.
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Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.
Image: Bigstock
Can Value Investors Consider First Mid-Illinois (FMBH) Stock?
Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?
One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc. (FMBH - Free Report) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:
PE Ratio
A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.
On this front, First Mid-Illinois has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 12.09, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 17.67. Also, if we focus on the long-term PE trend, First Mid-Illinois’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint of 14.41 over the past five years.
Also, the stock’s PE compares favorably with the Finance Market’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 13.73. This indicates that the stock is quite undervalued right now, compared to its peers.
Moreover, First Mid-Illinois has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 11.56, which is slightly lower than the current level. So, it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for First Mid-Illinois stock in the near term too.
P/CF Ratio
An often-overlooked ratio that can still be a great indicator of value is the price/cash flow metric. This ratio doesn’t take amortization and depreciation into account, so can give a more accurate picture of the financial health in a business. This is a preferred metric to some valuation investors because cash flows are (a) generally less prone to manipulation by the company’s management, and (b) are less affected by variation in accounting policies between different companies.
The ratio is generally applied to find out whether a company’s stock is overpriced or underpriced with reference to its cash flows generation potential compared with its competitors. However, it is not commonly used for cross-industry comparison, as the average price to cash flow ratio varies from industry to industry.
In this case, First Mid-Illinois’s P/CF ratio of 11.94 is higher than the Zacks Banks-Northeast Market’s average of 9.98, which indicates that the stock is somewhat overvalued in this respect.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, First Mid-Illinois currently has a Value Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes First Mid-Illinois a solid choice for value investors.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though First Mid-Illinois might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of B and a Momentum Score of B. This gives FMBH a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)
Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. The current quarter has seen three upward and no downward revisions in the past sixty days, while the full year estimate has seen two upward revisions versus one downward revision in the same time period.
This has had a positive impact on the consensus estimate as the current quarter consensus estimate has shot up 5.7% over the past two months, while the full year estimate has increased 1.4%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:
First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc. Price and Consensus
First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc. price-consensus-chart | First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc. Quote
Despite the bullish analyst sentiments, the stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.
Bottom Line
First Mid-Illinois is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a sluggish industry rank (among Bottom 29% of more than 250 industries) and a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about the stock.
In fact, over the past two years, the broader industry has clearly underperformed the market at large, as you can see below:
So, value investors might want to wait for the rank and industry performance to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.
Today's Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.
See their latest picks free >>