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Should Value Investors Buy FS Bancorp (FSBW) Stock?

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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.

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.

FS Bancorp (FSBW - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. FSBW is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 9.1, which compares to its industry's average of 10.74. Over the past year, FSBW's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.94 and as low as 8.27, with a median of 9.30.

Another notable valuation metric for FSBW is its P/B ratio of 1.03. 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 1.32. Over the past year, FSBW's P/B has been as high as 1.31 and as low as 0.93, with a median of 1.07.

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 popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. FSBW has a P/S ratio of 1.53. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.37.

Finally, our model also underscores that FSBW has a P/CF ratio of 6.91. 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 P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 10.83. FSBW's P/CF has been as high as 7.90 and as low as 6.22, with a median of 6.92, all within the past year.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that FS Bancorp is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, FSBW feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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