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

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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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 First Guaranty Bancshares (FGBI - Free Report) . FGBI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 9.36 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 11.66. FGBI's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.03 and as low as 7.91, with a median of 8.84, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that FGBI has a P/B ratio of 1.37. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. FGBI's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.72. Within the past 52 weeks, FGBI's P/B has been as high as 1.37 and as low as 0.92, with a median of 1.07.

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 popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. FGBI has a P/S ratio of 2.07. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.17.

Finally, investors should note that FGBI has a P/CF ratio of 8.16. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 11.66. Over the past year, FGBI's P/CF has been as high as 8.16 and as low as 5.86, with a median of 6.76.

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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