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, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
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 Hilltop Holdings (HTH). HTH is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.
We should also highlight that HTH has a P/B ratio of 0.97. 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 1.89. Over the past 12 months, HTH's P/B has been as high as 1.02 and as low as 0.80, with a median of 0.89.
Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a preferred metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. HTH has a P/S ratio of 1.41. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.33.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in Hilltop Holdings'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, HTH looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
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Hilltop Holdings Inc. (HTH): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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