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Are Investors Undervaluing Citizens Financial Group (CFG) Right Now?

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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, 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.

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.

One stock to keep an eye on is Citizens Financial Group (CFG - Free Report) . CFG is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.01, which compares to its industry's average of 9.26. Over the last 12 months, CFG's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.11 and as low as 6.73, with a median of 8.24.

Investors will also notice that CFG has a PEG ratio of 0.53. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. CFG's industry currently sports an average PEG of 0.93. Over the past 52 weeks, CFG's PEG has been as high as 0.58 and as low as 0.44, with a median of 0.52.

Another notable valuation metric for CFG is its P/B ratio of 0.94. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 0.95. Over the past 12 months, CFG's P/B has been as high as 1.12 and as low as 0.73, with a median of 0.94.

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. CFG has a P/S ratio of 2.42. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.49.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that CFG has a P/CF ratio of 7.83. 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 8.68. Over the past 52 weeks, CFG's P/CF has been as high as 8.20 and as low as 5.58, with a median of 7.20.

Investors could also keep in mind Riverview Bancorp (RVSB - Free Report) , an Financial - Savings and Loan stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Riverview Bancorp sports a P/B ratio of 1.18 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 0.95. In the past 52 weeks, RVSB's P/B has been as high as 1.24, as low as 0.86, with a median of 1.02.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Citizens Financial Group and Riverview Bancorp are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, CFG and RVSB sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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Riverview Bancorp Inc (RVSB) - free report >>

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