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Are These Finance Stocks a Great Value Stocks Right Now?

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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 use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

One stock to keep an eye on is Isabella Bank (ISBA - Free Report) . ISBA is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 13.47, while its industry has an average P/E of 13.75. Over the past 52 weeks, ISBA's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.96 and as low as 10.93, with a median of 12.50.

Another notable valuation metric for ISBA is its P/B ratio of 0.86. 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 1.90. Over the past 12 months, ISBA's P/B has been as high as 0.98 and as low as 0.81, with a median of 0.86.

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. ISBA has a P/S ratio of 2.52. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.1.

Finally, investors should note that ISBA has a P/CF ratio of 10.62. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. ISBA's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 19.14. ISBA's P/CF has been as high as 11.94 and as low as 9.59, with a median of 10.47, all within the past year.

Orrstown Financial Services (ORRF - Free Report) may be another strong Banks - Northeast stock to add to your shortlist. ORRF is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Orrstown Financial Services sports a P/B ratio of 1.05 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.90. In the past 52 weeks, ORRF's P/B has been as high as 1.14, as low as 0.79, with a median of 1.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Isabella Bank and Orrstown Financial Services strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, ISBA and ORRF look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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Orrstown Financial Services Inc (ORRF) - free report >>

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