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Should Value Investors Buy FS Bancorp (FSBW) Stock?

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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 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.

FS Bancorp (FSBW - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. FSBW is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 10.43 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 11.53. Over the past 52 weeks, FSBW's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.60 and as low as 6.37, with a median of 7.61.

Investors should also recognize that FSBW has a P/B ratio of 1.25. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus 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 1.38. Within the past 52 weeks, FSBW's P/B has been as high as 1.25 and as low as 0.87, with a median of 0.95.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. FSBW has a P/S ratio of 1.72. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.11.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that FSBW has a P/CF ratio of 7.22. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. FSBW's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 10.72. Over the past year, FSBW's P/CF has been as high as 7.22 and as low as 4.71, with a median of 5.31.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that FS Bancorp is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, FSBW sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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