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.
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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.
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.
HCA Holdings (HCA) is a stock many investors are watching right now. HCA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 11.88, while its industry has an average P/E of 11.99. HCA’s Forward P/E has been as high as 14.55 and as low as 10.65, with a median of 12.21, all within the past year.
Investors will also notice that HCA has a PEG ratio of 0.97. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company’s expected earnings growth rate. HCA’s PEG compares to its industry’s average PEG of 1.11. Within the past year, HCA’s PEG has been as high as 1.32 and as low as 0.90, with a median of 1.07.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in HCA Holdings’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 HCA is an impressive value stock right now.
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