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Is Wintrust Financial (WTFC) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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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.

One stock to keep an eye on is Wintrust Financial (WTFC - Free Report) . WTFC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.64, which compares to its industry's average of 10.21. Over the last 12 months, WTFC's Forward P/E has been as high as 17.11 and as low as 8.38, with a median of 10.29.

Investors will also notice that WTFC has a PEG ratio of 0.51. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. WTFC's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.96. WTFC's PEG has been as high as 1.01 and as low as 0.49, with a median of 0.60, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for WTFC is its P/B ratio of 1.31. 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. WTFC's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.38. Over the past 12 months, WTFC's P/B has been as high as 1.47 and as low as 1.07, with a median of 1.26.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. WTFC has a P/S ratio of 2.6. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.71.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that WTFC has a P/CF ratio of 10.03. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. WTFC's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 16.43. Over the past 52 weeks, WTFC's P/CF has been as high as 10.61 and as low as 8.12, with a median of 9.54.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Wintrust Financial is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, WTFC feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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