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Should Value Investors Buy FS Bancorp (FSBW) 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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 FS Bancorp (FSBW - Free Report) . FSBW is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 7.76. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.60. FSBW's Forward P/E has been as high as 9 and as low as 5.68, with a median of 6.72, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for FSBW is its P/B ratio of 0.99. 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 solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.09. FSBW's P/B has been as high as 1.18 and as low as 0.84, with a median of 0.95, over 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. FSBW has a P/S ratio of 1.38. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.69.

Finally, our model also underscores that FSBW has a P/CF ratio of 5.36. 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. FSBW's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 8.62. Within the past 12 months, FSBW's P/CF has been as high as 6.30 and as low as 4.65, with a median of 5.19.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in FS 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 FSBW is an impressive value stock right now.


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