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Should Value Investors Buy Metropolitan Bank Holding (MCB) Stock?

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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, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One stock to keep an eye on is Metropolitan Bank Holding (MCB - Free Report) . MCB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.36 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 11.06. Over the past 52 weeks, MCB's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.67 and as low as 5.17, with a median of 7.36.

We should also highlight that MCB has a P/B ratio of 0.98. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.35. Within the past 52 weeks, MCB's P/B has been as high as 1.05 and as low as 0.54, with a median of 0.81.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. MCB has a P/S ratio of 1.43. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.94.

Finally, we should also recognize that MCB has a P/CF ratio of 12.14. 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. MCB's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 13.58. Over the past 52 weeks, MCB's P/CF has been as high as 14.77 and as low as 5.15, with a median of 8.66.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Metropolitan Bank Holding's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that MCB is an impressive value stock right now.


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