Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is FS Bancorp (FSBW) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. 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 value investors might notice is FS Bancorp (FSBW - Free Report) . FSBW is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 9.51, which compares to its industry's average of 10.84. Over the past 52 weeks, 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 valuation metric that we should highlight is FSBW's P/B ratio of 1.08. 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 solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.34. Within the past 52 weeks, 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 frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a preferred metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. FSBW has a P/S ratio of 1.51. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.35.

Finally, our model also underscores that FSBW has a P/CF ratio of 7.25. 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 10.97. Within the past 12 months, FSBW's P/CF has been as high as 7.90 and as low as 6.22, with a median of 6.95.

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.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


FS Bancorp, Inc. (FSBW) - free report >>

Published in