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Are Investors Undervaluing Midland States Bancorp (MSBI) 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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 value investors might notice is Midland States Bancorp (MSBI - Free Report) . MSBI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.76, which compares to its industry's average of 12.50. MSBI's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.51 and as low as 7.17, with a median of 8.25, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that MSBI has a P/B ratio of 0.98. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. MSBI's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.89. MSBI's P/B has been as high as 1.06 and as low as 0.78, with a median of 0.89, over the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. MSBI has a P/S ratio of 2. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.88.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that MSBI has a P/CF ratio of 6.42. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 15.35. Within the past 12 months, MSBI's P/CF has been as high as 14.64 and as low as 5.42, with a median of 8.15.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Midland States Bancorp is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, MSBI feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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