Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Merchants Bancorp (MBIN) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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.

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 Merchants Bancorp (MBIN - Free Report) . MBIN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 9.56 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 11.98. Over the past year, MBIN's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.71 and as low as 7.12, with a median of 8.85.

Another notable valuation metric for MBIN is its P/B ratio of 1.43. 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. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.47. Over the past 12 months, MBIN's P/B has been as high as 1.83 and as low as 1.06, with a median of 1.28.

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. MBIN has a P/S ratio of 2.36. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.81.

Finally, we should also recognize that MBIN has a P/CF ratio of 7.69. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 12.86. Within the past 12 months, MBIN's P/CF has been as high as 12.10 and as low as 6.62, with a median of 8.24.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Merchants Bancorp is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, MBIN feels like a great value stock at the moment.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Merchants Bancorp (MBIN) - free report >>

Published in