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Should Value Investors Buy Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Host Hotels & Resorts (HST - Free Report) . HST is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.39 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 15.78. Over the past 52 weeks, HST's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.77 and as low as 6.79, with a median of 8.53.

HST is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.65. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. HST's industry currently sports an average PEG of 2.08. HST's PEG has been as high as 1.67 and as low as 1.40, with a median of 1.56, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for HST is its P/B ratio of 1.68. 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. HST's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.81. Over the past 12 months, HST's P/B has been as high as 1.99 and as low as 1.32, with a median of 1.74.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio 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. HST has a P/S ratio of 1.92. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.88.

Finally, we should also recognize that HST has a P/CF ratio of 7.69. 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 15.71. Within the past 12 months, HST's P/CF has been as high as 9.04 and as low as 6.05, with a median of 7.95.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Host Hotels & Resorts's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, HST looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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