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Should Value Investors Buy First Busey (BUSE) Stock?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One stock to keep an eye on is First Busey (BUSE - Free Report) . BUSE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 9.37, which compares to its industry's average of 11.98. Over the past 52 weeks, BUSE's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.76 and as low as 8.83, with a median of 10.59.

We should also highlight that BUSE has a P/B ratio of 1. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus 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 2.16. Within the past 52 weeks, BUSE's P/B has been as high as 1.21 and as low as 0.89, with a median of 1.01.

Finally, our model also underscores that BUSE has a P/CF ratio of 9.33. 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. BUSE's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 15.65. Over the past 52 weeks, BUSE's P/CF has been as high as 10.66 and as low as 7.13, with a median of 9.20.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that First Busey is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, BUSE sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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