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Is Popular (BPOP) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

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 is trading with P/E ratio of 7.87 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 10.63. Over the past 52 weeks, BPOP's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.81 and as low as 7.62, with a median of 8.87.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is BPOP's P/B ratio of 0.98. 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. BPOP's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.53. Over the past 12 months, 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 love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. 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 1.86. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.8.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that BPOP has a P/CF ratio of 9.94. 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 10.98. Over the past 52 weeks, BPOP's P/CF has been as high as 16.54 and as low as 7.96, with a median of 9.92.

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


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