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Are Investors Undervaluing Customers Bancorp (CUBI) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

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 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 Customers Bancorp (CUBI - Free Report) . CUBI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 6.98, which compares to its industry's average of 13.30. Over the last 12 months, CUBI's Forward P/E has been as high as 7.10 and as low as 2.98, with a median of 4.65.

Investors should also recognize that CUBI has a P/B ratio of 1.16. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. CUBI's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.85. CUBI's P/B has been as high as 1.18 and as low as 0.37, with a median of 0.56, over the past year.

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. CUBI has a P/S ratio of 1.68. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.06.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that CUBI has a P/CF ratio of 5.92. 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. CUBI's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 16.15. Within the past 12 months, CUBI's P/CF has been as high as 6.11 and as low as 2.61, with a median of 3.79.

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


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