Is OceanFirst Financial (OCFC) Stock Undervalued Right Now?
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.
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 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.
OceanFirst Financial (OCFC) is a stock many investors are watching right now. OCFC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 9.82, while its industry has an average P/E of 9.95. Over the past year, OCFC's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.27 and as low as 5.40, with a median of 7.89.
We should also highlight that OCFC has a P/B ratio of 0.63. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 0.90. OCFC's P/B has been as high as 0.93 and as low as 0.45, with a median of 0.61, over 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 popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. OCFC has a P/S ratio of 1.61. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.74.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in OceanFirst Financial'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 OCFC is an impressive value stock right now.
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OceanFirst Financial Corp. (OCFC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
