Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 3 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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3 Undervalued Banks Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 3 undervalued stocks in the Banks industry for Thursday, February 12, 2026. 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.

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Trust Bank, Inc. that provides various commercial and personal banking, and trust and wealth management services. The company accepts time and demand deposits, checking accounts, savings accounts and savings certificates, individual retirement accounts and Keogh plans, and money market accounts. Its loan portfolio includes commercial, construction, mortgage, and personal loans; lease-financing, lines of credit, revolving lines of credit, and term loans, as well as other specialized loans, including asset-based financing; residential and commercial real estate loans; consumer loans; hotel/motel loans; and other commercial loans. The company also provides cash management, renting safe deposit boxes, and funds transfer services; issues letters of credit; and acts as a trustee of personal trusts, executor of estates, trustee for employee benefit trusts, and paying agent for bond and stock issues, as well as an investment agent and depositor for securities and undertakes repurchase agreements. In addition, it offers securities brokerage services; debit cards; annuity and life insurance products; and repurchase agreements. The company serves small and mid-sized communities in eastern, northeastern, central, and south-central Kentucky, as well as southern West Virginia and northeastern Tennessee. Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Pikeville, 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.

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

When you look at Community Trust Bancorp, Inc.’s price-to-sales ratio at 4.38 compared to the industry median at 3.42, this company has a higher price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Community Trust Bancorp, Inc.’s stock less attractive for value investors.

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 12.30 compared to the industry median at 13.20. This means it has a lower share price relative to earnings compared to its peers. This could make Community Trust 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. Community Trust 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. Community Trust Bancorp, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its industry median ratio of 1.21. This could make Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. less attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lastly, let’s take a look at Community Trust 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. Community Trust Bancorp, Inc.’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is higher than its industry median ratio of 16.30. This could make Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. less attractive because the higher P/FCF ratio indicates that Community Trust 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.

LINKBANCORP, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

LINKBANCORP, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for LINKBANK that provides various banking products and services in Pennsylvania. Its deposit products include noninterest-bearing and interest-bearing demand, savings, and money market accounts; and time and brokered time deposits, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial real estate, commercial business, construction and land development, residential real estate, home equity, consumer, agricultural, and municipal loans. In addition, the company provides online banking, mobile banking, direct and remote deposit, and cash management services. It serves individuals, families, nonprofits, municipalities, and business customers. LINKBANCORP, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Camp Hill, 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.

LINKBANCORP, Inc. has a Value Score of 81, which is considered to be undervalued.

LINKBANCORP, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 9.0 compared to the industry median at 13.2. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes LINKBANCORP, Inc. more attractive for value investors.

LINKBANCORP, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make LINKBANCORP, Inc. less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.21.

You can read more about LINKBANCORP, 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.

Mercantile Bank Corporation’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Mercantile Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank that provides commercial and retail banking services to small- to medium-sized businesses and individuals in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, and term certificate accounts; time deposits; and certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial and industrial loans; vacant land, land development, and residential construction loans; owner and non-owner occupied real estate loans; multi-family and residential rental property loans; single-family residential real estate loans; home equity line of credit programs; consumer loans, such as new and used automobile and boat loans, and credit cards, as well as overdraft protection services; and residential mortgage and instalment loans. In addition, the company offers courier services and safe deposit boxes; and insurance products, such as private passenger automobile, homeowners, personal inland marine, boat owners, recreational vehicle, dwelling fire, umbrella policies, small business, and life insurance products. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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.

Mercantile Bank Corporation has a Value Score of 64, which is considered to be undervalued.

Mercantile Bank Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 10.2 compared to the industry median at 13.2. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Mercantile Bank Corporation more attractive for value investors.

Mercantile Bank Corporation’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Mercantile Bank Corporation more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.21.

You can read more about Mercantile Bank 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 3 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.

• Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of B.
• LINKBANCORP, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Mercantile Bank Corporation stock has a Value Grade of B.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 3 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.

• 3 Undervalued Banks Stocks for Thursday, February 12
• 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

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.