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Should Value Investors Buy Popular (BPOP) 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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Popular (BPOP - Free Report) . BPOP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.19. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.97. Over the last 12 months, BPOP's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.33 and as low as 7.63, with a median of 9.27.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is BPOP's P/B ratio of 1. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.55. Over the past year, BPOP's P/B has been as high as 1.11 and as low as 0.88, with a median of 0.99.

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. BPOP has a P/S ratio of 1.88. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.91.

Finally, we should also recognize that BPOP has a P/CF ratio of 8.20. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 11.46. Over the past year, BPOP's P/CF has been as high as 34.13 and as low as 7.79, with a median of 12.37.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Popular is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, BPOP feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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