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.
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.
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 to watch right now is Banc of California (BANC). BANC is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 9.78, while its industry has an average P/E of 12.22. BANC's Forward P/E has been as high as 22.03 and as low as 8.24, with a median of 11.68, all within the past year.
We should also highlight that BANC has a P/B ratio of 0.71. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.76. BANC's P/B has been as high as 1 and as low as 0.64, with a median of 0.79, over the past year.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. BANC has a P/S ratio of 1.15. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.99.
Finally, we should also recognize that BANC has a P/CF ratio of 13.69. 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. BANC's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 18.12. BANC's P/CF has been as high as 16.79 and as low as 1.87, with a median of 2.45, all within the past year.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Banc of California is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, BANC sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Banc of California, Inc. (BANC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
