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.
Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.
One company value investors might notice is Eagle Bancorp (EGBN). EGBN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 6.59, while its industry has an average P/E of 8.27. Over the past 52 weeks, EGBN's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.19 and as low as 4.28, with a median of 8.82.
Investors should also recognize that EGBN has a P/B ratio of 0.59. 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. EGBN's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.16. EGBN's P/B has been as high as 1.27 and as low as 0.42, with a median of 1.13, over the past year.
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. EGBN has a P/S ratio of 1.3. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.77.
Finally, our model also underscores that EGBN has a P/CF ratio of 5.03. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 9.96. Within the past 12 months, EGBN's P/CF has been as high as 10.24 and as low as 3.99, with a median of 9.05.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Eagle Bancorp is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, EGBN sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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