Is Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corp. overvalued or undervalued?

As of 7 February 2025, Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corp. has moved from a fair to an expensive valuation grade. The company is currently considered overvalued. Key ratios include a P/E ratio of 17, a Price to Book Value of 0.88, and an EV to EBIT of 10.21. In comparison, Univest Financial Corp. has a P/E of 11.38 and CrossFirst Bankshares, Inc. has a P/E of 10.04, highlighting that Peapack-Gladstone is trading at a premium relative to its peers.
Despite a recent stock return of 29.38% over the past year, which outperformed the S&P 500's 10.26%, the underlying valuation metrics suggest that the stock may not be justified at its current price of 27.39. The company's ROCE stands at 8.29% and ROE at 5.17%, which further indicates that the returns generated are not sufficient to support the elevated valuation.