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Is Financial Institutions (FISI) a Great Value Stock 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.

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 value investors might notice is Financial Institutions (FISI - Free Report) . FISI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 6.06. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 8.48. Over the last 12 months, FISI's Forward P/E has been as high as 7.37 and as low as 4.81, with a median of 6.16.

We should also highlight that FISI has a P/B ratio of 0.68. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.16. Within the past 52 weeks, FISI's P/B has been as high as 0.85 and as low as 0.59, with a median of 0.66.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. FISI has a P/S ratio of 0.84. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.61.

Finally, investors should note that FISI has a P/CF ratio of 5.68. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 10.62. FISI's P/CF has been as high as 5.80 and as low as 3.78, with a median of 4.74, all within the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Financial Institutions's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, FISI looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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