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Should Value Investors Buy First BanCorp. (FBP) Stock?

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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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 First BanCorp. (FBP - Free Report) . FBP is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 7.87. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.19. Over the past 52 weeks, FBP's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.46 and as low as 7.76, with a median of 8.93.

FBP is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.76. 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. FBP's industry has an average PEG of 1 right now. FBP's PEG has been as high as 1.74 and as low as 0.22, with a median of 0.90, all within the past year.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. FBP has a P/S ratio of 2.73. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.84.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that FBP has a P/CF ratio of 7.88. 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. FBP's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.86. FBP's P/CF has been as high as 10.52 and as low as 7.61, with a median of 8.61, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in First BanCorp.'s great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that FBP is an impressive value stock right now.


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