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, May 18, 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.

Popular, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Popular, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various retail, mortgage, and commercial banking services for individuals and businesses in Puerto Rico, the United States, the British Virgin Islands, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The company offers savings, NOW, money market, and other interest-bearing demand accounts; non-interest bearing demand deposits; checking accounts; individual retirement accounts and educational contribution accounts; business accounts; investment accounts; private management accounts; and certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, commercial multi-family, and residential mortgage loans; consumer loans, including unsecured personal loans, home equity lines of credit, and other loans to individual borrowers; construction loans; lease financing comprising automobile loans and leases; renewable energy and marine loans; and startup program and healthcare hub financing. In addition, the company offers auto and equipment leasing and financing; broker-dealer; international and private banking; insurance services, such as travel, property, auto and boat, health, life, and title; debit and credit cards; family of funds and Keogh plans; mobile easy deposit, foreign exchange, and fiduciary services; retirement plans; wire transfers; coordination of auto, aircraft, and helicopter loans; financial planning; investment advice; ATM; and online banking services. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

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.

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

When you look at Popular, Inc.’s price-to-sales ratio at 3.21 compared to the industry median at 3.17, this company has a higher price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Popular, Inc.’s stock less attractive for value investors.

Popular, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 10.70 compared to the industry median at 11.50. This means it has a lower share price relative to earnings compared to its peers. This could make Popular, 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. Popular, Inc.’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of 2.60%. 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. Popular, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its industry median ratio of 1.13. This could make Popular, Inc. less attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lastly, let’s take a look at Popular, Inc.’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (P/FCF), which can indicate a company’s market value relative to its operating cash flow. Popular, Inc.’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is higher than its industry median ratio of 14.95. This could make Popular, Inc. less attractive because the higher P/FCF ratio indicates that Popular, 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.

Oak Valley Bancorp’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Oak Valley Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Oak Valley Community Bank that provides a range of commercial banking services to individuals and small to medium-sized businesses in the Central Valley and the Eastern Sierras. The company accepts deposits through checking and savings, money market, health savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial real estate loans, commercial business lending and trade finance, and small business administration lending, as well as consumer loans, including automobile loans, home mortgages, credit lines, and other personal loans. In addition, the company offers Internet, online, and mobile banking services; automated teller machines; and remote deposit capture, merchant, night depository, extended hours, wire transfer of funds, and note collection services. Oak Valley Bancorp was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Oakdale, California.

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.

Oak Valley Bancorp has a Value Score of 66, which is considered to be undervalued.

Oak Valley Bancorp’s price-earnings ratio is 11.4 compared to the industry median at 11.5. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Oak Valley Bancorp more attractive for value investors.

Oak Valley Bancorp’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Oak Valley Bancorp more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.13.

You can read more about Oak Valley Bancorp’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.

Westamerica Bancorporation’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Westamerica Bancorporation operates as a bank holding company for Westamerica Bank that provides various banking products and services to individual and commercial customers in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products from local businesses and professionals, as well as retail savings and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio includes commercial, commercial real estate, residential real estate, real estate construction, consumer installment loans, as well as indirect automobile loans. The company serves small businesses, professionals, and consumers. The company was formerly known as Independent Bankshares Corporation and changed its name to Westamerica Bancorporation in 1983. Westamerica Bancorporation was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in San Rafael, California.

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.

Westamerica Bancorporation has a Value Score of 63, which is considered to be undervalued.

Westamerica Bancorporation’s price-earnings ratio is 12.0 compared to the industry median at 11.5. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Westamerica Bancorporation less attractive for value investors.

Westamerica Bancorporation’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Westamerica Bancorporation more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.13.

You can read more about Westamerica Bancorporation’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.

Western New England Bancorp, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Western New England Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Westfield Bank that provides various commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals and companies. It offers various deposit products, including commercial, small business, nonprofit and municipal checking, money market, sweep accounts, time deposits, interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also originates and funds commercial and residential real estate loans, including first mortgages, home equity loans, and home equity lines, and secured by one-to-four family residential properties; home equity revolving loans and lines of credit; consumer loans, including automobile, spa and pool, collateral, and personal lines of credit; commercial and industrial loans, such as letters of credit, revolving lines of credit, working capital, equipment financing, and term loans; and construction and land development loans. In addition, it provides automated teller machine (ATM), telephone and online banking, remote deposit capture, cash management, overdraft and safe deposit facility, and night deposit services. The company was formerly known as Westfield Financial, Inc. and changed its name to Western New England Bancorp, Inc. in October 2016. The company was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts.

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.

Western New England Bancorp, Inc. has a Value Score of 62, which is considered to be undervalued.

Western New England Bancorp, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 14.9 compared to the industry median at 11.5. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Western New England Bancorp, Inc. less attractive for value investors.

Western New England Bancorp, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Western New England Bancorp, Inc. fairly attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.13.

You can read more about Western New England 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.

• Popular, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Oak Valley Bancorp stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Westamerica Bancorporation stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Western New England 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.

• 3 Undervalued Banks Stocks for Monday, May 18
• 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.