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Are Investors Undervaluing KB Financial Group (KB) Right Now?

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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.

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.

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 value investors might notice is KB Financial Group (KB - Free Report) . KB is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 6.76. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.31. KB's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.12 and as low as 4.43, with a median of 6.00, all within the past year.

We also note that KB holds a PEG ratio of 0.57. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. KB's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.79. Over the past 52 weeks, KB's PEG has been as high as 0.66 and as low as 0.35, with a median of 0.48.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. KB has a P/S ratio of 1.18. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.86.

Finally, investors should note that KB has a P/CF ratio of 6.74. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 17.46. KB's P/CF has been as high as 7.78 and as low as 4.09, with a median of 6.26, all within the past year.

Investors could also keep in mind Woori Bank (WF - Free Report) , another Banks - Foreign stock with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Shares of Woori Bank currently hold a Forward P/E ratio of 5.68, and its PEG ratio is 0.89. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 10.31 and 0.79.

Over the past year, WF's P/E has been as high as 6.37, as low as 3.48, with a median of 4.12; its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.02, as low as 0.31, with a median of 0.42 during the same time period.

Woori Bank also has a P/B ratio of 0.53 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.14. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 0.57, as low as 0.30, with a median of 0.35.

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


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