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Is Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) Stock Undervalued 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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Ameris Bancorp (ABCB - Free Report) . ABCB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 10.82, while its industry has an average P/E of 11.64. Over the past year, ABCB's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.55 and as low as 7.99, with a median of 10.89.

We should also highlight that ABCB has a P/B ratio of 1.28. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.74. Over the past 12 months, ABCB's P/B has been as high as 1.48 and as low as 0.58, with a median of 1.03.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. ABCB has a P/S ratio of 2.85. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.89.

Finally, our model also underscores that ABCB has a P/CF ratio of 8.92. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. ABCB's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 14.89. ABCB's P/CF has been as high as 13.34 and as low as 6.28, with a median of 9.91, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Ameris Bancorp's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that ABCB is an impressive value stock right now.


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