Are These Finance Stocks Undervalued Right Now?

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 fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

One company value investors might notice is Greenhill & Co. (GHL). GHL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 8.14, while its industry has an average P/E of 14.08. GHL's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.77 and as low as 7, with a median of 8.62, all within the past year.

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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. GHL has a P/S ratio of 0.96. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.03.

Finally, our model also underscores that GHL has a P/CF ratio of 5.20. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 17.89. Within the past 12 months, GHL's P/CF has been as high as 12.35 and as low as -73.99, with a median of 6.05.

Investors could also keep in mind Raymond James Financial (RJF), an Financial - Investment Bank stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Furthermore, Raymond James Financial holds a P/B ratio of 2.43 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 2.69. RJF's P/B has been as high as 2.54, as low as 1.74, with a median of 2.32 over the past 12 months.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Greenhill & Co. and Raymond James Financial are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, GHL and RJF sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

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Greenhill & Co., Inc. (GHL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Raymond James Financial, Inc. (RJF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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