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Are Investors Undervaluing Financial Institutions (FISI) 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 fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

Financial Institutions (FISI - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. FISI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 7.26 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 8.48. FISI's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.05 and as low as 6.74, with a median of 8.24, all within the past year.

We should also highlight that FISI has a P/B ratio of 0.97. 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. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.51. Over the past year, FISI's P/B has been as high as 1.11 and as low as 0.90, with a median of 1.02.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. FISI has a P/S ratio of 1.83. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.78.

Finally, investors should note that FISI has a P/CF ratio of 4.89. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 15.31. Over the past year, FISI's P/CF has been as high as 6.31 and as low as 4.52, with a median of 5.32.

Investors could also keep in mind Meridian Bank (MRBK - Free Report) , an Banks - Northeast stock with a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) and Value grade of A.

Meridian Bank sports a P/B ratio of 1.23 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.51. In the past 52 weeks, MRBK's P/B has been as high as 1.45, as low as 1.11, with a median of 1.22.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Financial Institutions and Meridian Bank strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, FISI and MRBK look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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