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Is Wintrust Financial (WTFC) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

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 Wintrust Financial (WTFC - Free Report) . WTFC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

WTFC is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.68. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. WTFC's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.02. Within the past year, WTFC's PEG has been as high as 1.01 and as low as 0.65, with a median of 0.75.

Investors should also recognize that WTFC has a P/B ratio of 1.28. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.96. Over the past year, WTFC's P/B has been as high as 1.47 and as low as 1.01, with a median of 1.24.

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 popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. WTFC has a P/S ratio of 2.7. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.89.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that WTFC has a P/CF ratio of 9.67. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. WTFC's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 20.93. Over the past 52 weeks, WTFC's P/CF has been as high as 10.61 and as low as 6.98, with a median of 9.18.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Wintrust Financial's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that WTFC is an impressive value stock right now.


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