5 Value Stocks In The Financial Services Sector

What Defines a Value Stock?

A value stock traditionally has a lower price when compared to stock prices of companies in the same industry. This indicates that the company may be undervalued, as investors are not expressing as much interest in such companies. The most commonly used way to check for value is with the price-to-earnings multiple, or P/E. A low P/E multiple is a good indication that the stock is undervalued.

The following stocks are considered to be notable value stocks in the financial services sector:

1. Elevate Credit ELVT - P/E: 3.55
2. Civista Bancshares CIVB - P/E: 9.63
3. GAMCO Investors GBL - P/E: 8.79
4. Summit Finl Gr SMMF - P/E: 8.93
5. Peoples Financial Servs PFIS - P/E: 9.67

Elevate Credit saw an increase in earnings per share from 0.4 in Q2 to 0.42 now. Elevate Credit does not have a dividend yield, which investors should be aware of when considering holding onto such a stock.

Most recently, Civista Bancshares reported earnings per share at 0.48, whereas in Q2 earnings per share sat at 0.41. Most recently, the company reported a dividend yield of 2.55%, which has decreased by 0.59% from last quarter's yield of 3.14%.

GAMCO Investors saw an increase in earnings per share from 0.62 in Q3 to 0.74 now. GAMCO Investors does not have a dividend yield, which investors should be aware of when considering holding onto such a stock.

This quarter, Summit Finl Gr experienced an increase in earnings per share, which was 0.74 in Q3 and is now 0.79. Most recently, the company reported a dividend yield of 3.31%, which has decreased by 1.21% from last quarter's yield of 4.52%.

Peoples Financial Servs has reported Q4 earnings per share at 1.1, which has increased by 0.92% compared to Q3, which was 1.09. Its most recent dividend yield is at 4.0%, which has increased by 0.01% from 3.99% in the previous quarter.

The Significance: A value stock may need some time to rebound from its undervalued position. The risk of investing in a value stock is that this emergence may never materialize.