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Are Investors Undervaluing These Finance Stocks 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 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 to watch right now is Heritage Insurance (HRTG - Free Report) . HRTG is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 18.44 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 30.44. HRTG's Forward P/E has been as high as 41.15 and as low as -8.96, with a median of 11.05, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that HRTG has a P/B ratio of 0.43. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.27. Over the past year, HRTG's P/B has been as high as 0.76 and as low as 0.36, with a median of 0.47.

Stewart Information Services (STC - Free Report) may be another strong Insurance - Property and Casualty stock to add to your shortlist. STC is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Additionally, Stewart Information Services has a P/B ratio of 1.37 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 1.27. For STC, this valuation metric has been as high as 1.77, as low as 1.29, with a median of 1.47 over 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 and Stewart Information Services are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, HRTG and STC feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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Stewart Information Services Corporation (STC) - free report >>

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