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Are Investors Undervaluing Summit Financial Group (SMMF) Right Now?

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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.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One stock to keep an eye on is Summit Financial Group (SMMF - Free Report) . SMMF is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 9.34, which compares to its industry's average of 12.27. Over the past year, SMMF's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.56 and as low as 7.36, with a median of 8.55.

Another notable valuation metric for SMMF is its 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 1.80. Within the past 52 weeks, SMMF's P/B has been as high as 1.25 and as low as 0.92, with a median of 1.08.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. SMMF has a P/S ratio of 2.5. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.25.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that SMMF has a P/CF ratio of 6.72. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. SMMF's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 16.35. Over the past year, SMMF's P/CF has been as high as 9.36 and as low as 5.74, with a median of 6.81.

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


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