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Should Value Investors Buy Medallion Financial (MFIN) 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.

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.

Medallion Financial (MFIN - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. MFIN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 5.71, while its industry has an average P/E of 7.97. Over the past year, MFIN's Forward P/E has been as high as 7.31 and as low as 3.34, with a median of 4.86.

Another notable valuation metric for MFIN is its P/B ratio of 0.50. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to 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 0.89. Over the past year, MFIN's P/B has been as high as 0.68 and as low as 0.40, with a median of 0.53.

Finally, we should also recognize that MFIN has a P/CF ratio of 2.68. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 8.72. Over the past year, MFIN's P/CF has been as high as 3.87 and as low as 1.90, with a median of 2.65.

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


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