Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should Value Investors Buy Citizens Financial Group (CFG) Stock?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One stock to keep an eye on is Citizens Financial Group (CFG - Free Report) . CFG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 11, which compares to its industry's average of 13.19. Over the last 12 months, CFG's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.18 and as low as 4.20, with a median of 12.51.

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. CFG has a P/S ratio of 2.34. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.85.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Citizens Financial Group is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, CFG 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:


Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (CFG) - free report >>

Published in