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Is HCA Holdings (HCA) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

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

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 value investors might notice is HCA Holdings (HCA - Free Report) . HCA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 11.80, while its industry has an average P/E of 12.47. Over the past 52 weeks, HCA's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.55 and as low as 10.41, with a median of 12.20.

HCA is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.05. 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. HCA's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.07. Over the last 12 months, HCA's PEG has been as high as 1.20 and as low as 0.91, with a median of 1.04.

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


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