Investors looking for stocks in the Banks – Northeast sector might want to consider either Nicolet Bankshares (NCBS) or Community Bank System (CBU). But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We’ll need to take a closer look.
The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.
Both Nicolet Bankshares and Community Bank System have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.
Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.
NCBS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.74, while CBU has a forward P/E of 19.05. We also note that NCBS has a PEG ratio of 1.82. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company’s expected earnings growth rate. CBU currently has a PEG ratio of 2.38.
Another notable valuation metric for NCBS is its P/B ratio of 1.41. 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. For comparison, CBU has a P/B of 1.83.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to NCBS’s Value grade of B and CBU’s Value grade of D.
Both NCBS and CBU are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that NCBS is the superior value option right now.
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