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.

Click the button below to learn more about A+ Investor and subscribe today.

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 Thursday, August 15, 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.

ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ADR)’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

ANZ Group Holdings Limited is a non-operating holding company. It operates in six divisions: Australia Retail, Australia Commercial, Institutional, New Zealand, Pacific, and Group Center. The Australia Retail division offers a range of banking services, such as home loans, deposits, credit cards and personal loans. It also offers digital and Internet banking and phone banking. The Australia Commercial division provides a full range of banking products and financial services, including asset financing, across customer segments: small business owners and medium commercial customers. The Institutional division services government, global institutional and corporate customers across Australia, New Zealand and International. The New Zealand division provides personal banking and wealth management services. The Pacific division provides retail products for traditional relationship banking. The Group center supports the operating divisions, including technology, property, and risk management.

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.

ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ADR) has a Value Score of 78, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ADR)’s price-to-sales ratio at 1.50 compared to the industry median at 1.93, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ADR)’s stock more attractive for value investors.

ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ADR)’s price-earnings ratio is 12.59 compared to the industry median at 11.23. This means it has a higher share price relative to earnings compared to its peers. This could make ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ADR) less attractive for value investors.

Now, let’s assess ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ADR)’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 6.1, when compared to the industry median of 6.4, the company may be considered undervalued 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. ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ADR)’s shareholder yield is lower than its industry median ratio of 3.31%. 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. ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ADR)’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its industry median ratio of 0.95. This could make ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ADR) less attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

First Bancshares Inc (Missouri)’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

First Bancshares, Inc. is a holding company for Stockmens Bank (the Bank). The Bank provides its customers with a range of community banking services. The Bank is engaged in the business of attracting deposits from, and making loans to, the general public, including individuals and businesses. It originates real estate loans, including one-to-four family residential mortgage loans, multi-family residential loans, commercial real estate loans, agricultural real estate loans and home equity loans and non-real estate loans, including commercial business, agricultural business and consumer loans. It also invests in mortgage-back securities, United States Government and agency securities and other assets. It conducts its business from its home office in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and eight full-service Missouri offices in Mountain Grove, Marshfield, Ava, Kissee, Mills, Gainesville, Crane, Hartville and Springfield, and full-service offices in Bartley, Nebraska and Akron, Colorado.

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.

First Bancshares Inc (Missouri) has a Value Score of 74, which is considered to be undervalued.

First Bancshares Inc (Missouri)’s price-earnings ratio is 9.2 compared to the industry median at 11.2. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes First Bancshares Inc (Missouri) more attractive for value investors.

First Bancshares Inc (Missouri)’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make First Bancshares Inc (Missouri) more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.95.

You can read more about First Bancshares Inc (Missouri)’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.

First Interstate Bancsystem Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. is a financial and bank holding company focused on community banking. Through its bank subsidiary, First Interstate Bank, the Company delivers a range of banking products and services, including online and mobile banking to individuals, businesses, municipalities, and others throughout its market areas. It operates through Community Banking segment, which encompasses commercial and consumer banking services offered to individuals, businesses, municipalities and other entities. Community Banking segment encompasses commercial and consumer banking services provided through its Bank: primarily the acceptance of deposits, the extension of credit, mortgage loan origination and servicing, and wealth management, which includes trust, employee benefit, investment management, insurance, agency, and custodial services to individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. It provides lending opportunities to clients that participate in a variety of industries.

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.

First Interstate Bancsystem Inc has a Value Score of 82, which is considered to be undervalued.

First Interstate Bancsystem Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 11.5 compared to the industry median at 11.2. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes First Interstate Bancsystem Inc less attractive for value investors.

First Interstate Bancsystem Inc’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make First Interstate Bancsystem Inc fairly attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.95.

You can read more about First Interstate Bancsystem 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.

Southern First Bancshares Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company. The Company’s primary business is to serve as the holding company for Southern First Bank (the Bank). The Bank is primarily engaged in the business of accepting demand deposits and savings deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the FDIC), and providing commercial, consumer and mortgage loans to the general public. The Company, through the Bank, provides a range of financial services to individuals and companies in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. These services include demand, time, and savings deposits; lending services; automated teller machine (ATM) processing and mortgage banking services. In addition to deposit and loan services, it offer other bank services such as Internet banking, cash management, safe deposit boxes, direct deposit, automatic drafts, bill payment and mobile banking services. The Bank has approximately eight retail offices.

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.

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

Southern First Bancshares Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 17.8 compared to the industry median at 11.2. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Southern First Bancshares Inc less attractive for value investors.

Southern First Bancshares Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Southern First Bancshares Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.95.

You can read more about Southern First 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.

• ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ADR) stock has a Value Grade of B.
• First Bancshares Inc (Missouri) stock has a Value Grade of B.
• First Interstate Bancsystem Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Southern First 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 Thursday, August 15
• Which Is a Better Investment, Community Financial System Inc or FB Financial Corp Stock?
• Which Is a Better Investment, FB Financial Corp or Webster Financial Corporation Stock?
• 7 Undervalued Banks Stocks for Wednesday, August 14

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.