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Should Value Investors Buy Flagstar Bancorp (FBC) 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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company value investors might notice is Flagstar Bancorp . FBC is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 7.52, while its industry has an average P/E of 9.39. FBC's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.21 and as low as 4.56, with a median of 7.68, all within the past year.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is FBC's P/B ratio of 0.76. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. FBC's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 0.97. FBC's P/B has been as high as 1.01 and as low as 0.63, with a median of 0.78, over the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. FBC has a P/S ratio of 1.37. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.55.

Finally, investors should note that FBC has a P/CF ratio of 5.61. 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. FBC's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 8.95. FBC's P/CF has been as high as 6.09 and as low as 3.43, with a median of 4.14, all within the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Flagstar Bancorp is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, FBC sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

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