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Should Value Investors Buy Chemung Financial (CHMG) Stock?

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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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company to watch right now is Chemung Financial (CHMG - Free Report) . CHMG is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A.

Another notable valuation metric for CHMG is its P/B ratio of 0.89. 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. CHMG's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 0.91. Over the past year, CHMG's P/B has been as high as 1.22 and as low as 0.61, with a median of 0.76.

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. CHMG has a P/S ratio of 1.94. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.21.

Finally, investors should note that CHMG has a P/CF ratio of 7.38. 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. CHMG's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 11. CHMG's P/CF has been as high as 9.89 and as low as 5.38, with a median of 7.21, all within the past year.

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


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