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Are Investors Undervaluing Heritage Insurance (HRTG) Right Now?

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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.

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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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.

Heritage Insurance (HRTG - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. HRTG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value.

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. HRTG has a P/S ratio of 0.91. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.34.

Finally, our model also underscores that HRTG has a P/CF ratio of 7.53. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 12.98. Over the past year, HRTG's P/CF has been as high as 9.22 and as low as 3.66, with a median of 5.56.

Investors could also keep in mind NMI (NMIH - Free Report) , another Insurance - Property and Casualty stock with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Shares of NMI are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of 7.82 and a PEG ratio of 1.11 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 28.00 and 4.28, respectively.

NMIH's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.92 and as low as 6.98, with a median of 7.87. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.46, as low as 0.80, with a median of 1.11.

Additionally, NMI has a P/B ratio of 1.26 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 1.56. For NMIH, this valuation metric has been as high as 1.62, as low as 1.10, with a median of 1.30 over the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Heritage Insurance and NMI are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, HRTG and NMIH sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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