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Are Investors Undervaluing Columbia Banking System (COLB) 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.

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 company value investors might notice is Columbia Banking System (COLB - Free Report) . COLB 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 9.84, which compares to its industry's average of 10.88. COLB's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.58 and as low as 6.01, with a median of 7.83, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that COLB has a P/B ratio of 1.09. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to 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 1.30. COLB's P/B has been as high as 1.25 and as low as 0.73, with a median of 0.88, over the past year.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. COLB has a P/S ratio of 1.84. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.24.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that COLB has a P/CF ratio of 10.35. 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. COLB's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 10.45. Over the past 52 weeks, COLB's P/CF has been as high as 14.32 and as low as 6.40, with a median of 9.50.

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


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