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.
Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the “Value” category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and “A” grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.
One company to watch right now is Heritage Insurance (HRTG). HRTG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.
Another notable valuation metric for HRTG is its P/B ratio of 0.87. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock’s market value versus 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 1.42. Over the past year, HRTG’s P/B has been as high as 1.10 and as low as 0.86, with a median of 0.94.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. HRTG has a P/S ratio of 0.78. This compares to its industry’s average P/S of 1.09.
Finally, we should also recognize that HRTG has a P/CF ratio of 9.27. This metric focuses on a firm’s operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock’s P/CF looks attractive against its industry’s average P/CF of 15.10. Within the past 12 months, HRTG’s P/CF has been as high as 11.03 and as low as 5.71, with a median of 8.92.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in Heritage Insurance’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 HRTG is an impressive value stock right now.
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