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Should Value Investors Buy Hanmi Financial (HAFC) 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 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 company value investors might notice is Hanmi Financial (HAFC - Free Report) . HAFC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.54. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.58. Over the last 12 months, HAFC's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.89 and as low as 7.95, with a median of 9.30.

Investors should also recognize that HAFC has a P/B ratio of 0.99. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to 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 1.29. Over the past 12 months, HAFC's P/B has been as high as 1.10 and as low as 0.74, with a median of 0.94.

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. HAFC has a P/S ratio of 2. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.39.

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

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