Yahoo Finance Should Value Investors Buy First National (FXNC) Stock?
The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.
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 company to watch right now is First National (FXNC). FXNC 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 7.82, which compares to its industry's average of 9.96. Over the last 12 months, FXNC's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.27 and as low as 6.19, with a median of 9.70.
We should also highlight that FXNC has a P/B ratio of 0.81. 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 company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.65. Over the past 12 months, FXNC's P/B has been as high as 1.21 and as low as 0.77, with a median of 0.96.
Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. FXNC has a P/S ratio of 1.39. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.73.
Finally, investors will want to recognize that FXNC has a P/CF ratio of 8.17. 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. FXNC's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 12.19. Over the past year, FXNC's P/CF has been as high as 11.89 and as low as 4.70, with a median of 6.70.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in First National'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 FXNC is an impressive value stock right now.
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First National Corp. (FXNC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
