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Is Erste Group (EBKDY) Stock Undervalued 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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Erste Group (EBKDY - Free Report) . EBKDY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.74, which compares to its industry's average of 9.90. Over the past 52 weeks, EBKDY's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.03 and as low as 8.09, with a median of 9.70.

Investors should also note that EBKDY holds a PEG ratio of 0.96. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. EBKDY's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.42. Over the last 12 months, EBKDY's PEG has been as high as 1.31 and as low as 0.88, with a median of 1.15.

Another notable valuation metric for EBKDY is its P/B ratio of 0.74. 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 company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.40. Over the past year, EBKDY's P/B has been as high as 0.90 and as low as 0.63, with a median of 0.79.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. EBKDY has a P/S ratio of 1.63. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.82.

Finally, investors should note that EBKDY has a P/CF ratio of 6.29. 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. EBKDY's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 15.42. Within the past 12 months, EBKDY's P/CF has been as high as 7.95 and as low as 5.31, with a median of 6.72.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Erste Group is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, EBKDY sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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