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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, December 10, 2025. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the Banks industry median.

Company	Ticker	Price/Sales	Price/Earnings	EV/EBITDA	Shareholder Yield	Price/Book Value	Price/Free Cash Flow	Value Grade
Carter Bankshares, Inc.	CARE	2.78	14.0	na	2.4%	1.03	13.9	B
National Bank Holdings Corporation	NBHC	3.63	12.3	na	4.2%	1.06	15.5	B
Pioneer Bancorp, Inc.	PBFS	3.65	16.1	na	2.4%	1.05	15.2	B
First Financial Corporation	THFF	2.88	9.8	na	2.9%	1.16	14.7	B

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.

Carter Bankshares, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric	Score	CARE	Industry Median
Price/Sales	59	2.78	3.13
Price/Earnings	34	14.0	12.2
EV/EBITDA	na	na	0.0
Shareholder Yield	29	2.4%	2.5%
Price/Book Value	26	1.03	1.09
Price/Free Cash Flow	36	13.9	15.0

Carter Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Carter Bank & Trust that provides various retail and commercial banking products and insurance services in the United States. It offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, retirement, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial loans comprising secured and unsecured, real estate construction and acquisition, and commercial and industrial loans; consumer loans, such as secured and unsecured loans for financing automobiles, home improvements, education, overdraft protection, and personal investments, as well as residential mortgages; home equity lines of credit; and credit cards, as well as originates and holds fixed and variable rate mortgage loans. In addition, it offers other banking services that include safe deposit boxes, direct deposit of payroll, social security checks, and debit cards; online banking products, including online and mobile banking, online account opening, bill pay, e-statement, mobile deposit, Zelle, CardValet, digital wallet, MoneyPass, and ATM services; title insurance and other financial institution-related products and services; and treasury and corporate cash management services. Carter Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Martinsville, Virginia.

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.

Carter Bankshares, Inc. has a Value Score of 71, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Carter Bankshares, Inc.’s price-to-sales ratio at 2.78 compared to the industry median at 3.13, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Carter Bankshares, Inc.’s stock more attractive for value investors.

Carter Bankshares, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 14.00 compared to the industry median at 12.20. This means it has a higher share price relative to earnings compared to its peers. This could make Carter Bankshares, Inc. 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. Carter Bankshares, Inc.’s shareholder yield is lower than its industry median ratio of 2.50%. 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. Carter Bankshares, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 1.09. This could make Carter Bankshares, Inc. more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lastly, let’s take a look at Carter Bankshares, Inc.’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (P/FCF), which can indicate a company’s market value relative to its operating cash flow. Carter Bankshares, Inc.’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 15.00. This could make Carter Bankshares, Inc. more attractive because the lower P/FCF ratio indicates that Carter Bankshares, Inc. 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 Corporation’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric	Score	NBHC	Industry Median
Price/Sales	69	3.63	3.13
Price/Earnings	27	12.3	12.2
EV/EBITDA	na	na	0.0
Shareholder Yield	20	4.2%	2.5%
Price/Book Value	27	1.06	1.09
Price/Free Cash Flow	40	15.5	15.0

National Bank Holdings Corporation operates as the bank holding company for NBH Bank that provides various banking products and financial services to commercial, business, and consumer clients in the United States. It offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, health savings, and other deposit accounts, including fixed-rate and fixed maturity time deposits ranging. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans and leases, such as working capital loans, equipment loans, lender finance loans, food and agriculture loans, government and non-profit loans, owner occupied commercial real estate loans, and other commercial loans and leases; non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans consisting of loans on commercial properties, such as hospitality, office buildings, warehouse/distribution buildings, multi-family, and retail buildings; small business administration loans to support small businesses and entrepreneurs; term loans, line of credits, and real estate secured loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans. In addition, it offers treasury management solutions comprising online and mobile banking, commercial credit card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, electronic bill payment, lock box, remote deposit capture, merchant processing, cash vault, controlled disbursements, and fraud prevention services, as well as positive pay and other auxiliary services, including account reconciliation, collections, repurchase accounts, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. The company operates through a network of banking centers located in Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Texas. It also operates ATMs. The company was formerly known as NBH Holdings Corp. and changed its name to National Bank Holdings Corporation in March 2012. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, 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.

National Bank Holdings Corporation has a Value Score of 71, which is considered to be undervalued.

National Bank Holdings Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 12.3 compared to the industry median at 12.2. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes National Bank Holdings Corporation less attractive for value investors.

National Bank Holdings Corporation’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make National Bank Holdings Corporation fairly attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.09.

You can read more about National Bank Holdings Corporation’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.

Pioneer Bancorp, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric	Score	PBFS	Industry Median
Price/Sales	69	3.65	3.13
Price/Earnings	41	16.1	12.2
EV/EBITDA	na	na	0.0
Shareholder Yield	29	2.4%	2.5%
Price/Book Value	27	1.05	1.09
Price/Free Cash Flow	39	15.2	15.0

Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Pioneer Bank, National Association that provides various banking products and services in New York. It accepts various deposit accounts, such as demand, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company’s loan products include commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, commercial construction, residential mortgage, and consumer loans; and home equity loans and lines of credit. It also invests in securities, including U.S. treasury securities, fixed-rate mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations, fixed-rate investment grade bonds, and corporate debt securities. In addition, the company offers personal and commercial insurance products, including homeowners, automobile, and comprehensive business insurance; employee benefit products and consulting services, such as group health, dental, disability, and life insurance products; defined contribution and benefit administration, and human resource management services; and wealth management services comprising investment advice, retirement income planning, estate planning, business succession, and employer retirement planning. Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1889 and is based in Albany, New York. Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. is a subsidiary of Pioneer Bancorp MHC.

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.

Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. has a Value Score of 63, which is considered to be undervalued.

Pioneer Bancorp, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 16.1 compared to the industry median at 12.2. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. less attractive for value investors.

Pioneer Bancorp, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. fairly attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.09.

You can read more about Pioneer Bancorp, 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.

First Financial Corporation’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric	Score	THFF	Industry Median
Price/Sales	61	2.88	3.13
Price/Earnings	16	9.8	12.2
EV/EBITDA	na	na	0.0
Shareholder Yield	26	2.9%	2.5%
Price/Book Value	31	1.16	1.09
Price/Free Cash Flow	38	14.7	15.0

First Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in west-central Indiana, east-central Illinois, western Kentucky, central and eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia. It offers non-interest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, savings, time, and other time deposits. The company also provides commercial loans primarily to expand a business or finance asset purchases; residential real estate and residential real estate construction loans; and home equity loans and lines, secured loans, and cash/CD secured and unsecured loans. In addition, it offers lease financing, trust account, depositor, investment, and insurance services. The company was founded in 1834 and is headquartered in Terre Haute, Indiana.

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 Financial Corporation has a Value Score of 75, which is considered to be undervalued.

First Financial Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 9.8 compared to the industry median at 12.2. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes First Financial Corporation more attractive for value investors.

First Financial Corporation’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make First Financial Corporation more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.09.

You can read more about First Financial Corporation’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.

Carter Bankshares, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of B.
National Bank Holdings Corporation stock has a Value Grade of B.
Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of B.
First Financial Corporation 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.

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.