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Should Value Investors Buy Summit Financial Group (SMMF) Stock?

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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.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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 company to watch right now is Summit Financial Group (SMMF - Free Report) . SMMF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.20. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.39. Over the past 52 weeks, SMMF's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.07 and as low as 7.36, with a median of 8.60.

We should also highlight that SMMF has a P/B ratio of 1.14. 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. SMMF's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.80. Over the past 12 months, SMMF's P/B has been as high as 1.25 and as low as 0.92, with a median of 1.06.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. SMMF has a P/S ratio of 2.48. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.17.

Finally, we should also recognize that SMMF has a P/CF ratio of 6.93. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 16.16. Over the past 52 weeks, SMMF's P/CF has been as high as 9.36 and as low as 5.74, with a median of 7.02.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Summit Financial Group's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, SMMF looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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