Here are three stocks with buy rank and strong value characteristics for investors to consider today, February 18:

Peoples Financial Services Corp. (PFIS Quick QuotePFIS - Free Report) : This bank holding company for Peoples Security Bank carries a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing by 10.2% over the last 60 days.

Peoples Financial Services has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 8.86 compared with 10.30 for the industry. The company possesses a Value Scoreof B.

Cathay General Bancorp CATY: This holding company for Cathay Bank carries a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing by 7.5% over the last 60 days.

Cathay General Bancorp Price and Consensus

Cathay General Bancorp price-consensus-chart | Cathay General Bancorp Quote

Cathay General Bancorp has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 10.43 compared with 14.50 for the industry. The company possesses a Value Score of B.

Cathay General Bancorp PE Ratio (TTM)

Cathay General Bancorp pe-ratio-ttm | Cathay General Bancorp Quote

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. (RICK Quick QuoteRICK - Free Report) : This hospitality holding company carries a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 8.9% over the last 60 days.

RCI Hospitality Holdings has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 11.46 compared with 20.90 for the industry. The company possesses a Value Score of B.

See the full list of top ranked stocks here.

Learn more about the Value score and how it is calculated here.