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Should Value Investors Buy PennyMac Financial (PFSI) 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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. 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.

PennyMac Financial (PFSI - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. PFSI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 7.51 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 7.80. Over the last 12 months, PFSI's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.53 and as low as 6.56, with a median of 7.54.

Investors should also note that PFSI holds a PEG ratio of 0.75. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. PFSI's industry currently sports an average PEG of 0.93. Over the past 52 weeks, PFSI's PEG has been as high as 0.85 and as low as 0.66, with a median of 0.75.

We should also highlight that PFSI has a P/B ratio of 1.34. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 2.11. Over the past 12 months, PFSI's P/B has been as high as 1.39 and as low as 0.25, with a median of 1.02.

Finally, investors should note that PFSI has a P/CF ratio of 4.02. 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. PFSI's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.72. Over the past year, PFSI's P/CF has been as high as 5.70 and as low as 3.01, with a median of 4.23.

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


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