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Should Value Investors Buy Home Bancorp (HBCP) 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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 Home Bancorp (HBCP - Free Report) . HBCP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 8.79, while its industry has an average P/E of 10.22. Over the past 52 weeks, HBCP's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.78 and as low as 6.23, with a median of 8.49.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is HBCP's P/B ratio of 0.82. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. HBCP's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.71. Within the past 52 weeks, HBCP's P/B has been as high as 1.02 and as low as 0.70, with a median of 0.81.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is 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. HBCP has a P/S ratio of 1.66. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.76.

Finally, investors should note that HBCP has a P/CF ratio of 6.45. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 14.43. Within the past 12 months, HBCP's P/CF has been as high as 7.15 and as low as 4.74, with a median of 5.79.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Home Bancorp'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 HBCP is an impressive value stock right now.


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