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Are Investors Undervaluing Macro Bank (BMA) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is Macro Bank (BMA - Free Report) . BMA is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 5.21 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 11.40. Over the last 12 months, BMA's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.85 and as low as 4.76, with a median of 8.22.

BMA is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.38. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. BMA's industry has an average PEG of 0.73 right now. Within the past year, BMA's PEG has been as high as 0.46 and as low as 0.21, with a median of 0.29.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. BMA has a P/S ratio of 1.08. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.28.

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

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