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Are These Finance Stocks a Great Value Stocks 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.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Atlanticus (ATLC - Free Report) . ATLC is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 8.16, while its industry has an average P/E of 12.59. Over the last 12 months, ATLC's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.09 and as low as 5.13, with a median of 6.56.

We should also highlight that ATLC has a P/B ratio of 4. 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 solid versus its industry's average P/B of 4.61. Over the past year, ATLC's P/B has been as high as 6.90 and as low as 3.05, with a median of 4.46.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. ATLC has a P/S ratio of 1.48. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.46.

Finally, our model also underscores that ATLC has a P/CF ratio of 10.13. 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. ATLC's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 26.31. Within the past 12 months, ATLC's P/CF has been as high as 26.75 and as low as -206.08, with a median of 12.73.

CI Financial may be another strong Financial - Miscellaneous Services stock to add to your shortlist. CIXX is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Shares of CI Financial are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of 8.59 and a PEG ratio of 1.07 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 12.59 and 0.66, respectively.

CIXX's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 8.95 and as low as 6.09, with a median of 7.66, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.12 and as low as 0.76, with a median of 0.96, all within the past year.

CI Financial sports a P/B ratio of 3.41 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 4.61. In the past 52 weeks, CIXX's P/B has been as high as 3.89, as low as 2.06, with a median of 2.97.

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


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