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Should Value Investors Buy These Finance Stocks?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find 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 use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 BGC Partners . BGCP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 6.72 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 14.46. Over the past 52 weeks, BGCP's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.53 and as low as 5.06, with a median of 7.57.

Another notable valuation metric for BGCP is its P/B ratio of 2.60. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2.76. Within the past 52 weeks, BGCP's P/B has been as high as 3.11 and as low as 1.62, with a median of 2.54.

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. BGCP has a P/S ratio of 0.85. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.01.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that BGCP has a P/CF ratio of 8.80. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. BGCP's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 18.34. Over the past year, BGCP's P/CF has been as high as 15.19 and as low as 6.35, with a median of 12.14.

Investors could also keep in mind Greenhill & Co. , an Financial - Investment Bank stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Additionally, Greenhill & Co. has a P/B ratio of 4.37 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 2.76. For GHL, this valuation metric has been as high as 17.60, as low as 2.45, with a median of 3.98 over the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in BGC Partners and Greenhill & Co.'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 BGCP and GHL is an impressive value stock right now.

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