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Are Investors Undervaluing Metropolitan Bank Holding (MCB) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

Metropolitan Bank Holding (MCB - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. MCB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.15. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.66. Over the last 12 months, MCB's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.67 and as low as 5.17, with a median of 7.53.

Another notable valuation metric for MCB is its P/B ratio of 0.96. 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. MCB's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.43. Over the past year, MCB's P/B has been as high as 1.05 and as low as 0.54, with a median of 0.83.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. MCB has a P/S ratio of 1.37. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.83.

Finally, we should also recognize that MCB has a P/CF ratio of 11.92. 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 14.29. Within the past 12 months, MCB's P/CF has been as high as 14.77 and as low as 5.15, with a median of 8.85.

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


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