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Are Investors Undervaluing Level One Bancorp, Inc. (LEVL) 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, 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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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.

Level One Bancorp, Inc. is a stock many investors are watching right now. LEVL 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 7.83 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 11.97. Over the last 12 months, LEVL's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.35 and as low as 6.03, with a median of 11.

Another notable valuation metric for LEVL is its P/B ratio of 0.90. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. LEVL's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.47. Over the past 12 months, LEVL's P/B has been as high as 1.26 and as low as 0.69, with a median of 1.14.

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. LEVL has a P/S ratio of 1.53. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.75.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that LEVL has a P/CF ratio of 7.84. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.86. Over the past year, LEVL's P/CF has been as high as 11.92 and as low as 6.06, with a median of 10.46.

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

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