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Should Value Investors Buy Customers Bancorp (CUBI) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Customers Bancorp (CUBI - Free Report) . CUBI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 4.74, which compares to its industry's average of 9.24. CUBI's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.65 and as low as 4.61, with a median of 6.54, all within the past year.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is CUBI's P/B ratio of 0.90. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 1.67. CUBI's P/B has been as high as 1.97 and as low as 0.87, with a median of 1.28, over the past year.

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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. CUBI has a P/S ratio of 1.29. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.87.

Finally, investors should note that CUBI has a P/CF ratio of 8.97. 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 10.61. CUBI's P/CF has been as high as 22.20 and as low as 5.06, with a median of 11.33, all within the past year.

If you're looking for another solid Banks - Southeast value stock, take a look at First Community (FCCO - Free Report) . FCCO is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Furthermore, First Community holds a P/B ratio of 1.16 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 1.67. FCCO's P/B has been as high as 1.28, as low as 1.03, with a median of 1.13 over the past 12 months.

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


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