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Is First United (FUNC) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 stock to keep an eye on is First United (FUNC - Free Report) . FUNC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 6.29, while its industry has an average P/E of 9.82. FUNC's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.41 and as low as 6, with a median of 7.11, all within the past year.

We should also highlight that FUNC has a P/B ratio of 1.03. 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 1.68. FUNC's P/B has been as high as 1.11 and as low as 0.82, with a median of 0.95, over the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. FUNC has a P/S ratio of 1.92. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.76.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that FUNC has a P/CF ratio of 6.47. 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. FUNC's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 14.56. Over the past 52 weeks, FUNC's P/CF has been as high as 7.92 and as low as 5.80, with a median of 6.97.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in First United'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 FUNC is an impressive value stock right now.


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