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Are Investors Undervaluing South Plains Financial (SPFI) Right Now?

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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, 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.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is South Plains Financial (SPFI - Free Report) . SPFI is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is SPFI's P/B ratio of 1.34. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.92. SPFI's P/B has been as high as 1.50 and as low as 0.89, with a median of 1.16, over the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. SPFI has a P/S ratio of 1.68. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.94.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that SPFI has a P/CF ratio of 6.82. 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. SPFI's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 11.79. Over the past 52 weeks, SPFI's P/CF has been as high as 7.41 and as low as 5.04, with a median of 6.04.

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


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