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.
Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.
One stock to keep an eye on is Home Bancorp (HBCP). HBCP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.
We should also highlight that HBCP has a P/B ratio of 1.07. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with 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 1.65. HBCP's P/B has been as high as 1.09 and as low as 0.83, with a median of 0.99, over the past year.
Finally, we should also recognize that HBCP has a P/CF ratio of 9.08. 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 14.59. Over the past 52 weeks, HBCP's P/CF has been as high as 9.65 and as low as 7.42, with a median of 8.81.
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Home Bancorp is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, HBCP feels like a great value stock at the moment.
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Home Bancorp, Inc. (HBCP): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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