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Should Value Investors Buy Zions Bancorporation (ZION) 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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Zions Bancorporation (ZION - Free Report) . ZION is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 10.1, while its industry has an average P/E of 10.71. Over the last 12 months, ZION's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.64 and as low as 7.65, with a median of 9.98.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a preferred metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. ZION has a P/S ratio of 1.71. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.31.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that ZION has a P/CF ratio of 8.97. 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. ZION's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 10.78. ZION's P/CF has been as high as 11.06 and as low as 6.62, with a median of 8.64, all within the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Zions Bancorporation is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, ZION sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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