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Are Investors Undervaluing Private Bancorp of America (PBAM) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Private Bancorp of America (PBAM - Free Report) . PBAM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 7.95, which compares to its industry's average of 14.15. Over the last 12 months, PBAM's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.53 and as low as 4.84, with a median of 6.79.

We should also highlight that PBAM has a P/B ratio of 1.39. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 2. Within the past 52 weeks, PBAM's P/B has been as high as 1.42 and as low as 1, with a median of 1.09.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. PBAM has a P/S ratio of 1.87. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.14.

Finally, our model also underscores that PBAM has a P/CF ratio of 8.93. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 17.15. PBAM's P/CF has been as high as 9.16 and as low as 4.98, with a median of 6.39, all within the past year.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Private Bancorp of America is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, PBAM feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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