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Are Investors Undervaluing HCA Healthcare (HCA) Right Now?

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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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 to watch right now is HCA Healthcare (HCA - Free Report) . HCA is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A.

We also note that HCA holds a PEG ratio of 1.53. 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. HCA's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.70. Within the past year, HCA's PEG has been as high as 1.97 and as low as 1.08, with a median of 1.57.

Another great Medical - Hospital stock you could consider is Universal Health Services (UHS - Free Report) , which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Universal Health Services is trading at a forward earnings multiple of 13.40 at the moment, with a PEG ratio of 1.38. This compares to its industry's average P/E of 14.91 and average PEG ratio of 1.70.

Over the last 12 months, UHS's P/E has been as high as 15.12, as low as 10.83, with a median of 12.43, and its PEG ratio has been as high as 4.77, as low as 1.13, with a median of 1.38.

Additionally, Universal Health Services has a P/B ratio of 1.82 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 21.06. For UHS, this valuation metric has been as high as 1.83, as low as 1.38, with a median of 1.57 over the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in HCA Healthcare and Universal Health Services's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that HCA and UHS is an impressive value stock right now.


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