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Should Value Investors Buy Healthcare Services Group (HCSG) 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 use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 to watch right now is Healthcare Services Group (HCSG - Free Report) . HCSG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.77. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 25.81. Over the past 52 weeks, HCSG's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.66 and as low as 11.54, with a median of 14.45.

Another notable valuation metric for HCSG is its P/B ratio of 2.34. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with 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 4.81. Over the past 12 months, HCSG's P/B has been as high as 2.36 and as low as 1.33, with a median of 1.72.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a preferred metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. HCSG has a P/S ratio of 0.62. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.12.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Healthcare Services Group'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 HCSG is an impressive value stock right now.


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