Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 4 stocks made the list for top value stocks in the Banks industry. Those looking for value stocks to add to their portfolio may want to use this list as a starting point for further investment research.

Why Focus on Undervalued Banks Stocks?

Value investors seek to buy stocks at a discount to their intrinsic value. Long-term returns show that such strategies are advantageous. Value stocks, as a group, tend to outperform growth stocks over extended periods of time. Typically, value investors perform financial analysis of numerous metrics, don’t follow the herd and are long-term investors.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade is derived from a stock’s Value Score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

What Goes Into AAII’s Value Grade?

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data as well as the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movement. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors with that task.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A–F grades for more than just value. It is possible for a stock to appear cheap based on one valuation metric but appear expensive on another. It is also possible for one valuation ratio to be associated with outperforming stocks during certain periods of time but not others. Some stocks may even have null values for certain metrics like the price-earnings ratio or the price-to-book ratio but not others. An example of this would be a company with losses instead of profits or a negative book value because of heavy borrowing. Negative earnings or book value result in non-meaningful ratios that are left blank or null.

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4 Undervalued Banks Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 4 undervalued stocks in the Banks industry for Wednesday, July 03, 2024. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the Banks industry median.

The Value Grade is assigned based on how each stock’s composite valuation compares to all other stocks.

The process for assigning grades starts with each variable for a given stock. The percentile rankings for all valid ratios that a stock has are calculated. So, for instance, a stock could have a price-to-book ranking in the 43rd percentile, a price-earnings ranking in the 67th percentile, a price-to-sales ranking in the 23rd percentile, etc. Then, those rankings are averaged for each stock. (A minimum of two valid variables are required, though all six will be used if available.)

Once the average of the individual variables is calculated, that average is ranked against all stocks. Put another way, each stock’s composite valuation is compared to all other stocks. These ranks are then sorted into quintiles from the cheapest 20% (a grade of A) to the most expensive 20% (a grade of F).

As always, we recommend that you conduct proper due diligence and research before investing in any security. We also suggest that investors utilize numerous grades, not just value, when it comes to deciding whether a company is a good fit for their allocation needs.

Blue Foundry Bancorp’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Blue Foundry Bancorp is a holding company for Blue Foundry Bank (the Bank). The Bank is a chartered stock savings bank. The Bank's principal business consists of originating one-to-four family residential, multi-family, and non-residential real estate mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, construction, and commercial and industrial loans in its principal market and surrounding areas. In addition, it often lends outside of its branch network in more densely populated and metropolitan areas, adding diversification to its loan portfolio. It attracts retail deposits from the general public in the areas surrounding its banking offices, through its borrowers, and through its online presence, offering a variety of deposit products. It also invests in securities. Its primary sources of funds are deposits, principal and interest payments on loans, securities, and borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. It operates over 20 full-service banking offices in New Jersey.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Blue Foundry Bancorp has a Value Score of 63, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Blue Foundry Bancorp’s price-to-sales ratio at 2.51 compared to the industry median at 1.87, this company has a higher price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Blue Foundry Bancorp’s stock less attractive for value investors.

Now, let’s assess Blue Foundry Bancorp’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 22.2, when compared to the industry median of 6.3, the company may be considered overvalued in relation to its peers. Value investors could use the enterprise multiple to identify stocks that are considered overvalued or undervalued relative to their industry.

Shareholder yield is the sum of a stock’s dividend yield (paid over previous 12 months minus special dividends) and the percentage of net share buybacks over the previous 12 months. Blue Foundry Bancorp’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of 3.45%. Value investors may look for an attractive shareholder yield because it can be a powerful tool for identifying if the company has a good management team.

As one of the most common value metrics, the price-to-book ratio evaluates a company’s current market price relative to its book value. Blue Foundry Bancorp’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 0.90. This could make Blue Foundry Bancorp more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Community West Bancshares’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Community West Bancshares, formerly Central Valley Community Bancorp, is a financial services company. The Company is the holding company for Community West Bank (the Bank), the publicly traded community bank (by assets). The principal business activities of the Company are relationship banking, manufactured housing lending and government guaranteed lending. Its personal banking services include checking, savings, personal loans, real estate loans, personal credit cards, online banking, mobile banking, bill pay, Zelle, eStatements, Certificates of Deposit (CDs) & money markets, Visa Debit Cards and IRAs. Its business banking services include business loans, agriculture loans, SBA loans, real estate loans, business credit cards, cash management services, business online banking, merchant card services and others. The Bank operates 27 full-service Banking Centers throughout Central California from Sacramento in the north, throughout the San Joaquin Valley and west to the Coast.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Community West Bancshares has a Value Score of 64, which is considered to be undervalued.

Community West Bancshares’s price-earnings ratio is 9.6 compared to the industry median at 10.4. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Community West Bancshares more attractive for value investors.

Community West Bancshares’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Community West Bancshares more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.90.

You can read more about Community West Bancshares’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Northeast Bank’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Northeast Bank (the Bank) is a full-service financial institution. The Bank gathers retail deposits through its seven full-service branches in Maine and through its online deposit program, ableBanking; purchase and originate commercial loans, typically secured by real estate, on a nationwide basis through its National Lending Division, and originate loans through the Community Banking Division and Small Business Administration (SBA) National Division. The National Lending Division purchases primarily performing commercial real estate loans, on a nationwide basis, typically at a discount from their unpaid principal balances. The National Lending Division also originates commercial real estate and commercial and industrial loans on a nationwide basis. The SBA National Division originates loans to small businesses to help provide funding opportunities nationally. The Community Banking Division originates loans directly to businesses located in its market area.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Northeast Bank has a Value Score of 61, which is considered to be undervalued.

Northeast Bank’s price-earnings ratio is 8.4 compared to the industry median at 10.4. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Northeast Bank more attractive for value investors.

Northeast Bank’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Northeast Bank more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.90.

You can read more about Northeast Bank’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is a diversified financial company. The Company is engaged in retail banking, including residential mortgage, corporate and institutional banking and asset management, providing many of its products and services nationally. The Company’s retail branch network is located coast-to-coast. The Company has three segments: Retail Banking, Corporate & Institutional Banking, and Asset Management Group. Retail Banking provides deposit, lending, brokerage, insurance services, investment management and cash management products and services to consumer and small business customers. Corporate & Institutional Banking provides lending, treasury management, capital markets and advisory products and services to mid-sized and large corporations and government and not-for-profit entities. Asset Management Group provides private banking for high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients and institutional asset management. The Company’s bank subsidiary is PNC Bank.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc has a Value Score of 71, which is considered to be undervalued.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 13.3 compared to the industry median at 10.4. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes PNC Financial Services Group Inc less attractive for value investors.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make PNC Financial Services Group Inc more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.90.

You can read more about PNC Financial Services Group Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Other Banks Stock Grades

Value is just one of the five Stock Grades included in our A+ Investor service. AAII members can see the top-graded stocks—those with grades of A or B for value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality—on the A+ Stock Grades Screener.

Also, if you want full access to all of AAII’s premium services, you can subscribe to one convenient bundled plan called AAII Platinum where you can try out A+ Investor, AAII Dividend Investing, the Stock Superstars Report, Growth Investing and VMQ Stocks. With the other premium services, you can dive deep into additional metrics, portfolios, commentary and information about Banks stocks as well as other industrys.

Choosing Which of the 4 Best Banks Stocks Is Right for You

Choosing which value stocks to invest in will ultimately depend on your individual goals and allocation; however, comparing similar value stocks in the same industry can help you analyze which might be better investments for you in the long run. So, let’s take a look at the Value Grade for all of our stocks.

• Blue Foundry Bancorp stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Community West Bancshares stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Northeast Bank stock has a Value Grade of B.
• PNC Financial Services Group Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 4 undervalued stocks in the Banks industry as well as their overall grades, it’s time for you to conduct additional research to see if these could fit your portfolio needs based on your goals and risk tolerance. AAII can help you figure out both and identify which investments align with what works best for you.

We do so through a program of education that teaches you to invest for yourself and become an effective manager of your own wealth—no more relying on others for your financial independence. You can rely on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis that makes you a better investor.

A+ Investor adds to that qualitative teaching by giving you a powerful data suite that helps you whittle down investment decisions to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Additional Resources About Banks Stocks

Want to learn more about Banks stocks to see if they could be the right investment for you? Check out some additional resources and articles to help you on your financial journey.

• 4 Undervalued Banks Stocks for Wednesday, July 03
• 6 Undervalued Banks Stocks for Tuesday, July 02
• Why Angel Oak Mortgage REIT Inc’s (AOMR) Stock Is Down 5.30%
• Why KB Financial Group, Inc. (ADR)’s (KB) Stock Is Up 4.47%

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.