Should Value Investors Buy Bank OZK (OZK) Stock?

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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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.

One company to watch right now is Bank OZK (OZK). OZK is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 7.82 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 10.03. Over the last 12 months, OZK's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.78 and as low as 6.06, with a median of 7.38.

Another notable valuation metric for OZK is its P/B ratio of 1.06. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus 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 1.09. Within the past 52 weeks, OZK's P/B has been as high as 1.12 and as low as 0.78, with a median of 0.96.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that OZK has a P/CF ratio of 7.02. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. OZK's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 16.17. Over the past 52 weeks, OZK's P/CF has been as high as 7.39 and as low as 5.25, with a median of 6.46.

Another great Banks - Northeast stock you could consider is Webster Financial (WBS), which is a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Shares of Webster Financial currently hold a Forward P/E ratio of 9.55, and its PEG ratio is 0.51. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 10.03 and 0.36.

WBS's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.14 and as low as 7.00, with a median of 9.24. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.09, as low as 0.47, with a median of 0.73.

Additionally, Webster Financial has a P/B ratio of 1.13 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 1.09. For WBS, this valuation metric has been as high as 1.21, as low as 0.79, with a median of 1.05 over the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Bank OZK and Webster Financial's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that OZK and WBS is an impressive value stock right now.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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