Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Investors Undervaluing First Community (FCCO) Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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.

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.

First Community (FCCO - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. FCCO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 9.77 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 9.79. Over the past 52 weeks, FCCO's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.42 and as low as 8.76, with a median of 9.93.

Another notable valuation metric for FCCO is its P/B ratio of 1.36. 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 2.08. Over the past 12 months, FCCO's P/B has been as high as 1.38 and as low as 1.08, with a median of 1.16.

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. FCCO has a P/S ratio of 2.55. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.94.

Finally, our model also underscores that FCCO has a P/CF ratio of 8.29. 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 13.63. FCCO's P/CF has been as high as 8.90 and as low as 6.60, with a median of 7.56, all within the past year.

F.N.B. (FNB - Free Report) may be another strong Banks - Southeast stock to add to your shortlist. FNB is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Additionally, F.N.B. has a P/B ratio of 0.93 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 2.08. For FNB, this valuation metric has been as high as 0.96, as low as 0.70, with a median of 0.80 over the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that First Community and F.N.B. are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, FCCO and FNB sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


F.N.B. Corporation (FNB) - free report >>

First Community Corporation (FCCO) - free report >>

Published in