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Are Investors Undervaluing Stifel Financial (SF) 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, 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.

Stifel Financial (SF - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. SF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 10.24 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 13.36. Over the past 52 weeks, SF's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.12 and as low as 10.17, with a median of 10.51.

Another notable valuation metric for SF is its P/B ratio of 1.68. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 3.09. Over the past 12 months, SF's P/B has been as high as 1.73 and as low as 1.27, with a median of 1.43.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. SF has a P/S ratio of 1.76. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.99.

Finally, investors should note that SF has a P/CF ratio of 11.15. 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 23.68. SF's P/CF has been as high as 11.46 and as low as 7.43, with a median of 8.80, all within the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Stifel Financial's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, SF looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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