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Are Investors Undervaluing Northeast Community Bancorp (NECB) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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.

Northeast Community Bancorp (NECB - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. NECB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 6.23, which compares to its industry's average of 8.89. Over the past year, NECB's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.37 and as low as 5.61, with a median of 6.75.

Another notable valuation metric for NECB is its P/B ratio of 0.81. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. NECB's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.26. Over the past 12 months, NECB's P/B has been as high as 0.99 and as low as 0.74, with a median of 0.84.

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. NECB has a P/S ratio of 1.6. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.66.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that NECB has a P/CF ratio of 4.73. 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. NECB's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 11.37. Over the past 52 weeks, NECB's P/CF has been as high as 8.89 and as low as 4.68, with a median of 5.56.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Northeast Community 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 NECB is an impressive value stock right now.


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