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.
Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
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.
HCI Group (HCI) is a stock many investors are watching right now. HCI is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 9.02, while its industry has an average P/E of 26.33. Over the last 12 months, HCI's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.60 and as low as 7.36, with a median of 9.22.
Finally, our model also underscores that HCI has a P/CF ratio of 12.19. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 12.29. Within the past 12 months, HCI's P/CF has been as high as 16.08 and as low as 6.84, with a median of 12.15.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in HCI Group's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, HCI looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
HCI Group, Inc. (HCI): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
