Is Meta Financial Group (CASH) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of 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 company value investors might notice is Meta Financial Group (CASH). CASH is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 7.65, which compares to its industry's average of 9.80. CASH's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.36 and as low as 7.65, with a median of 11.28, all within the past year.

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. CASH has a P/S ratio of 2.23. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.77.

Finally, we should also recognize that CASH has a P/CF ratio of 5.83. 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. CASH's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 7.36. Over the past year, CASH's P/CF has been as high as 10.21 and as low as 5.83, with a median of 8.07.

Another great Financial - Savings and Loan stock you could consider is Southern Missouri Bancorp (SMBC), which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Furthermore, Southern Missouri Bancorp holds a P/B ratio of 1.29 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 0.91. SMBC's P/B has been as high as 1.88, as low as 1.29, with a median of 1.47 over the past 12 months.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Meta Financial Group and Southern Missouri Bancorp are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, CASH and SMBC sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

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Meta Financial Group, Inc. (CASH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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