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 Monday, July 08, 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.

Citizens Holding Company’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Citizens Holding Company is a one-bank holding company and the parent company of The Citizens Bank of Philadelphia (the Bank). The Bank has banking locations in about 14 counties throughout the state of Mississippi. In addition to full service commercial banking, the Company offers mortgage loans, title insurance services through third party partnerships and a full range of Internet banking services, including online banking, bill pay and cash management services for businesses. Through its ownership of the Bank, the Company engages in a range of commercial and personal banking activities, including accepting demand deposits, savings and time deposit accounts, making secured and unsecured loans, issuing letters of credit, originating mortgage loans, and providing personal and corporate trust services. The Company also provides certain services that are closely related to commercial banking, such as credit life insurance and title insurance for its loan customers.

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.

Citizens Holding Company has a Value Score of 69, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Citizens Holding Company’s price-to-sales ratio at 0.81 compared to the industry median at 1.84, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Citizens Holding Company’s stock more attractive for value investors.

Citizens Holding Company’s price-earnings ratio is 12.14 compared to the industry median at 10.12. This means it has a higher share price relative to earnings compared to its peers. This could make Citizens Holding Company less attractive for value investors.

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. Citizens Holding Company’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of 3.52%. 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. Citizens Holding Company’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its industry median ratio of 0.88. This could make Citizens Holding Company less attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lastly, let’s take a look at Citizens Holding Company’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (P/FCF), which can indicate a company’s market value relative to its operating cash flow. Citizens Holding Company’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is higher than its industry median ratio of 11.32. This could make Citizens Holding Company less attractive because the higher P/FCF ratio indicates that Citizens Holding Company is undervalued. The P/FCF ratio metric can also be viewed over a long-term time frame to see if the company's cash flow to share price value is generally improving or worsening.

National Bank Holdings Corp’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

National Bank Holdings Corporation is a bank holding company. The Company operates, through its subsidiaries, NBH Bank and Bank of Jackson Hole Trust (the Banks), which are a chartered banks and a member of the Federal Reserve System. The Bank provides a range of banking products to both commercial and consumer clients through a network of approximately 90 banking centers, located primarily in Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, Texas, Utah, and New Mexico, as well as through online and mobile banking products and services. The Bank’s distribution network also includes approximately 126 ATMs. The Bank offers personalized banking service to the clients, which includes services, such as loan and deposit services, online and mobile banking solutions, treasury management products, and services and trust and wealth management services. The Bank’s loan portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans, residential real estate loans, and others.

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.

National Bank Holdings Corp has a Value Score of 73, which is considered to be undervalued.

National Bank Holdings Corp’s price-earnings ratio is 10.9 compared to the industry median at 10.1. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes National Bank Holdings Corp less attractive for value investors.

National Bank Holdings Corp’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make National Bank Holdings Corp more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.88.

You can read more about National Bank Holdings Corp’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.

Old Point Financial Corp’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Old Point Financial Corporation is a holding company of the Old Point National Bank of Phoebus (the Bank) and Old Point Trust & Financial Services, N.A. (the Wealth). The Bank serves individual and commercial customers in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. It has over 14 branch offices, serving the Hampton Roads localities of Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Williamsburg/James City County, York County, and Isle of Wight County. The Bank offers a full range of deposit and loan products to its retail and commercial customers, including mortgage loan products offered through Old Point Mortgage. It offers insurance products through Old Point Insurance, LLC in partnership with Morgan Marrow Company. The Wealth offers a full range of services for individuals and businesses, including retirement planning, estate planning, financial planning, estate and trust administration, retirement plan administration, tax services and investment management services.

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.

Old Point Financial Corp has a Value Score of 80, which is considered to be undervalued.

Old Point Financial Corp’s price-earnings ratio is 11.6 compared to the industry median at 10.1. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Old Point Financial Corp less attractive for value investors.

Old Point Financial Corp’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Old Point Financial Corp less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.88.

You can read more about Old Point Financial Corp’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.

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. is a regional financial holding company providing personal banking services and investments to consumers and businesses throughout Texas and Oklahoma. The Company's traditional deposit products include certificates of deposit, interest-checking accounts, money market accounts and savings accounts. It also offers digital banking solutions, credit and debit cards, mortgage services, retail brokerage services, trust and wealth management, and treasury management. It operates around 288 full-service banking locations: 65 in the Houston area, including The Woodlands; 30 in the South Texas area including Corpus Christi and Victoria; 62 in the Dallas/Fort Worth area; 22 in the East Texas area; 31 in the Central Texas area including Austin and San Antonio; 49 in the West Texas area including Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, Abilene, Amarillo and Wichita Falls; 15 in the Bryan/College Station area; 6 in the Central Oklahoma area; and 8 in the Tulsa, Oklahoma 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.

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a Value Score of 66, which is considered to be undervalued.

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 13.7 compared to the industry median at 10.1. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. less attractive for value investors.

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.88.

You can read more about Prosperity Bancshares, 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.

• Citizens Holding Company stock has a Value Grade of B.
• National Bank Holdings Corp stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Old Point Financial Corp stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Prosperity Bancshares, 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 Monday, July 08
• 4 Undervalued Banks Stocks for Friday, July 05
• Why ACNB Corp’s (ACNB) Stock Is Down 6.56%
• Why Choiceone Financial Services Inc’s (COFS) Stock Is Down 12.41%

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.