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, 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 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 MainStreet Bank (MNSB). MNSB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 9.93 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 10.65. Over the past year, MNSB's Forward P/E has been as high as 21.54 and as low as 9.26, with a median of 14.09.
Investors should also recognize that MNSB has a P/B ratio of 0.89. 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. MNSB's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.39. MNSB's P/B has been as high as 0.95 and as low as 0.65, with a median of 0.73, 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 preferred metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. MNSB has a P/S ratio of 1.29. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.29.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in MainStreet Bank'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, MNSB looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
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MainStreet Bank (MNSB): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).