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, 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.
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.
Haverty Furniture Companies (HVT) is a stock many investors are watching right now. HVT is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.98. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.76. Over the last 12 months, HVT's Forward P/E has been as high as 23.87 and as low as 9.18, with a median of 11.86.
Investors will also notice that HVT has a PEG ratio of 0.92. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. HVT's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.34. Over the past 52 weeks, HVT's PEG has been as high as 1.99 and as low as 0.76, with a median of 0.99.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. HVT has a P/S ratio of 0.46. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.26.
Finally, investors will want to recognize that HVT has a P/CF ratio of 7.64. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. HVT's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 13.84. Over the past year, HVT's P/CF has been as high as 9.88 and as low as 6.36, with a median of 7.93.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Haverty Furniture Companies is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, HVT sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (HVT): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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