Should Value Investors Buy Financial Institutions (FISI) Stock?

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.Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.Financial Institutions (FISI) is a stock many investors are watching right now. FISI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 8.16, while its industry has an average P/E of 10.90. FISI's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.35 and as low as 5.47, with a median of 6.89, all within the past year.Another valuation metric that we should highlight is FISI's P/B ratio of 0.86. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 1.25. FISI's P/B has been as high as 0.95 and as low as 0.59, with a median of 0.76, over the past year.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. FISI has a P/S ratio of 1.1. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.82.Finally, investors will want to recognize that FISI has a P/CF ratio of 6.23. 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. FISI's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 23.52. Over the past year, FISI's P/CF has been as high as 6.82 and as low as 4.53, with a median of 5.60.These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Financial Institutions is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, FISI feels like a great value stock at the moment.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.1% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Financial Institutions, Inc. (FISI): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks