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Should Value Investors Buy Eagle Bancorp Montana (EBMT) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

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.

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.

Eagle Bancorp Montana (EBMT - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. EBMT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

Investors should also recognize that EBMT has a P/B ratio of 0.78. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with 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 1.77. Over the past year, EBMT's P/B has been as high as 0.83 and as low as 0.67, with a median of 0.75.

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 popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. EBMT has a P/S ratio of 1.05. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.98.

Finally, investors should note that EBMT has a P/CF ratio of 6.16. 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. EBMT's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 14.15. Over the past 52 weeks, EBMT's P/CF has been as high as 7.56 and as low as 5.51, with a median of 6.35.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Eagle Bancorp Montana'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, EBMT looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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