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Should Value Investors Buy Fulton Financial (FULT) Stock?

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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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

Fulton Financial (FULT - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. FULT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value.

We should also highlight that FULT has a P/B ratio of 0.97. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.38. FULT's P/B has been as high as 1.23 and as low as 0.66, with a median of 0.92, over the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. FULT has a P/S ratio of 1.79. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.84.

Finally, our model also underscores that FULT has a P/CF ratio of 8.23. 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. FULT's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 11.91. Within the past 12 months, FULT's P/CF has been as high as 8.93 and as low as 4.86, with a median of 6.67.

If you're looking for another solid Banks - Northeast value stock, take a look at First United (FUNC - Free Report) . FUNC is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Additionally, First United has a P/B ratio of 0.99 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 1.38. For FUNC, this valuation metric has been as high as 1.03, as low as 0.55, with a median of 0.72 over the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Fulton Financial and First United strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, FULT and FUNC look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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