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Should Value Investors Buy Hancock Whitney (HWC) Stock?

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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 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 company value investors might notice is Hancock Whitney (HWC - Free Report) . HWC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.89. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.83. HWC's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.16 and as low as 7.34, with a median of 8.76, all within the past year.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is HWC's P/B ratio of 1.47. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 2.09. Over the past year, HWC's P/B has been as high as 1.52 and as low as 1.09, with a median of 1.25.

Finally, we should also recognize that HWC has a P/CF ratio of 7.88. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 13.69. Over the past 52 weeks, HWC's P/CF has been as high as 8.83 and as low as 6.05, with a median of 7.51.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Hancock Whitney is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, HWC sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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