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Is Hancock Whitney (HWC) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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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 use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company value investors might notice is Hancock Whitney (HWC - Free Report) . HWC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 9.63 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 10.35. Over the past year, HWC's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.08 and as low as 7.94, with a median of 11.83.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is HWC's P/B ratio of 1.12. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. HWC's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.51. HWC's P/B has been as high as 1.62 and as low as 0.95, with a median of 1.40, over the past year.

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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. HWC has a P/S ratio of 2.49. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.79.

Finally, our model also underscores that HWC has a P/CF ratio of 8.54. 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 10.92. HWC's P/CF has been as high as 15.48 and as low as 7.32, with a median of 12, 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 Hancock Whitney is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, HWC feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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