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Are Investors Undervaluing Heritage Insurance (HRTG) Right Now?

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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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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 Heritage Insurance (HRTG - Free Report) . HRTG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. 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 0.99. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.26.

Finally, our model also underscores that HRTG has a P/CF ratio of 7.53. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 13.17. Over the past 52 weeks, HRTG's P/CF has been as high as 9.22 and as low as 3.66, with a median of 5.56.

Another great Insurance - Property and Casualty stock you could consider is Mercury General (MCY - Free Report) , which is a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Furthermore, Mercury General holds a P/B ratio of 2.24 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 1.50. MCY's P/B has been as high as 2.35, as low as 1.34, with a median of 1.92 over the past 12 months.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Heritage Insurance and Mercury General strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, HRTG and MCY look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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Mercury General Corporation (MCY) - free report >>

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