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Is MidWestOne Financial Group (MOFG) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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.

One company to watch right now is MidWestOne Financial Group (MOFG - Free Report) . MOFG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 7.90, while its industry has an average P/E of 10.29. Over the past 52 weeks, MOFG's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.70 and as low as 7.03, with a median of 8.50.

Investors should also recognize that MOFG has a P/B ratio of 0.97. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus 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 2.25. Over the past 12 months, MOFG's P/B has been as high as 1.06 and as low as 0.87, with a median of 0.96.

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. MOFG has a P/S ratio of 2.19. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.87.

Finally, we should also recognize that MOFG has a P/CF ratio of 7.48. 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. MOFG's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 17.34. Over the past 52 weeks, MOFG's P/CF has been as high as 8.21 and as low as 6.54, with a median of 7.21.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in MidWestOne Financial Group's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, MOFG looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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