Should Value Investors Buy Old Second Bancorp (OSBC) Stock?

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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 Old Second Bancorp (OSBC). OSBC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.28, which compares to its industry's average of 10.09. Over the past 52 weeks, OSBC's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.39 and as low as 7.18, with a median of 8.81.

Another notable valuation metric for OSBC is its P/B ratio of 1.07. 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 1.95. OSBC's P/B has been as high as 1.30 and as low as 0.97, with a median of 1.15, over the past year.

Finally, investors should note that OSBC has a P/CF ratio of 7.69. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. OSBC's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 14.94. Within the past 12 months, OSBC's P/CF has been as high as 9.42 and as low as 6.47, with a median of 8.01.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Old Second Bancorp'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 OSBC is an impressive value stock right now.

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

Zacks Investment Research