Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.
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.
Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.
One company value investors might notice is Heritage Insurance (HRTG). HRTG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value.
Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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 0.94. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.31.
Finally, we should also recognize that HRTG has a P/CF ratio of 6.60. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 12.75. HRTG's P/CF has been as high as 9.22 and as low as 3.66, with a median of 5.56, all within the past year.
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Heritage Insurance is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, HRTG feels like a great value stock at the moment.
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Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (HRTG): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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