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, December 29, 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.

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.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for The Farmers & Merchants State Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and small businesses in Northwest Ohio, Northeast Indiana, and Southeast Michigan. The company offers checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; certificates of deposit; and custodial services for individual retirement and health savings accounts. It also provides commercial, agricultural, and residential mortgage, as well as consumer lending products; loans for farm land, farm equipment, and livestock; operating loans for seeds, fertilizers, and feeds; home improvement loans; and loans for autos, trucks, recreational vehicles, and motorcycles. In addition, the company offers commercial real estate loans, such as lines of credit and machinery purchase loans. Further, it provides automated teller machine or interactive teller machine services; and online and mobile banking, bill-pay, on-line statement opportunities, and remote deposit capture or electronic deposit processing. Additionally, the company offers electronic transaction origination, such as wire and automated clearing house file transmittal services. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Archbold, Ohio.

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.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. has a Value Score of 65, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.’s price-to-sales ratio at 3.10 compared to the industry median at 3.21, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.’s stock more attractive for value investors.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 11.20 compared to the industry median at 12.60. This means it has a lower share price relative to earnings compared to its peers. This could make Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. more 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. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of 2.40%. 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. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 1.12. This could make Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lastly, let’s take a look at Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (P/FCF), which can indicate a company’s market value relative to its operating cash flow. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is higher than its industry median ratio of 15.00. This could make Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. less attractive because the higher P/FCF ratio indicates that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, 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.

Meridian Corporation’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Meridian Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Meridian Bank that provides commercial banking products and services in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Florida. It provides various deposit products, such as demand non-interest and interest bearing, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits. The company also offers commercial and industrial loans, including business lines of credit, term loans, small business lending, lease financing, shared national credits, and other financing; commercial real estate, and land development and construction loans for residential and commercial projects; and consumer and home equity lending, private banking, merchant, and title insurance and land settlement services. In addition, it operates and originates mortgage loans for 1-4 family dwellings; and offers real estate holding, investment advisory, and equipment leasing services, as well as provides financial planning and wealth management services. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

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.

Meridian Corporation has a Value Score of 84, which is considered to be undervalued.

Meridian Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 10.0 compared to the industry median at 12.6. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Meridian Corporation more attractive for value investors.

Meridian Corporation’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Meridian Corporation fairly attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.12.

You can read more about Meridian 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.

Provident Financial Services, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Provident Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products. The company’s loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans that are secured by properties, such as multi-family apartment buildings, retail and industrial properties, and office buildings; commercial business loans; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans collateralized by one- to four-family residential real estate properties; commercial construction loans; and consumer loans consisting of home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, personal loans and unsecured lines of credit, and auto and recreational vehicle loans. It also offers cash management, remote deposit capture, payroll origination, escrow account management, and online and mobile banking services; and business credit cards. In addition, the company provides wealth management services comprising investment management, trust and estate administration, financial planning, and tax compliance and planning. Further, it sells insurance and investment products, including annuities; and manages and sells real estate properties acquired through foreclosure. The company was founded in 1839 and is headquartered in Jersey City, 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.

Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a Value Score of 87, which is considered to be undervalued.

Provident Financial Services, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 10.4 compared to the industry median at 12.6. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Provident Financial Services, Inc. more attractive for value investors.

Provident Financial Services, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Provident Financial Services, Inc. less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.12.

You can read more about Provident Financial Services, 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.

Republic Bancorp, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Republic Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Republic Bank & Trust Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates in five segments: Traditional Banking, Warehouse Lending, Tax Refund Solutions, Republic Payment Solutions, and Republic Credit Solutions. The company offers retail mortgage, commercial and industrial loan, construction and land development, secured and unsecured personal loans, and aircraft loans; service charges on deposit accounts, debit and credit card interchange fee income, title insurance commissions; private banking; and lockbox processing, remote deposit capture, business online banking, account reconciliation, automated clearing house processing, and other services. In addition, it offers short-term, revolving credit facilities to mortgage bankers across the United States through mortgage warehouse lines of credit; mortgage banking; tax refund solutions, which facilitate the receipt and payment of federal and state tax refund products through third-party tax preparers and tax-preparation software providers; prepaid and debit solutions, such as issuing of payroll, general purpose reloadable cards, issuing of demand deposit accounts, savings accounts and/or debit cards; and consumer credit products. The company offers its services through full-services banking centers in Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee. Republic Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1974 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

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.

Republic Bancorp, Inc. has a Value Score of 72, which is considered to be undervalued.

Republic Bancorp, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 10.9 compared to the industry median at 12.6. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Republic Bancorp, Inc. more attractive for value investors.

Republic Bancorp, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Republic Bancorp, Inc. more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.12.

You can read more about Republic 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.

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.

• Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Meridian Corporation stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Provident Financial Services, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Republic Bancorp, 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, December 29
• Is Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA) Overvalued?
• Is Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) Overvalued?
• Is Bank of America Corporation (BAC) Overvalued?

AAII Disclaimer

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