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Should Value Investors Buy Hilltop Holdings (HTH) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 Hilltop Holdings (HTH - Free Report) . HTH is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is HTH's P/B ratio of 1. 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. HTH's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.60. HTH's P/B has been as high as 1.13 and as low as 0.80, with a median of 0.94, over the past year.

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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. HTH has a P/S ratio of 1.25. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.99.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Hilltop Holdings is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, HTH feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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