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Should Value Investors Buy First Guaranty Bancshares (FGBI) Stock?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

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.

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 company value investors might notice is First Guaranty Bancshares (FGBI - Free Report) . FGBI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 8.03, while its industry has an average P/E of 12.75. Over the past 52 weeks, FGBI's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.69 and as low as 8.01, with a median of 9.39.

Investors should also recognize that FGBI has a P/B ratio of 1.16. 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. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.83. FGBI's P/B has been as high as 1.25 and as low as 0.87, with a median of 1.04, over the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. FGBI has a P/S ratio of 1.81. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.33.

Finally, we should also recognize that FGBI has a P/CF ratio of 7.17. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 16.60. FGBI's P/CF has been as high as 7.72 and as low as 5.84, with a median of 6.67, all within the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that First Guaranty Bancshares is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, FGBI sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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