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Should Value Investors Buy Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) 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, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is Host Hotels & Resorts (HST - Free Report) . HST is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.84 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 15.49. 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 8.52.

HST is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.65. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. HST's industry has an average PEG of 1.77 right now. Over the last 12 months, HST's PEG has been as high as 1.67 and as low as 1.54, with a median of 1.59.

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 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 2.16. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.69.

Finally, investors should note that HST has a P/CF ratio of 8.31. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 15.24. Over the past year, HST's P/CF has been as high as 9.04 and as low as 6.05, with a median of 7.87.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Host Hotels & Resorts'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 HST is an impressive value stock right now.


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