Are Investors Undervaluing Hilltop Holdings (HTH) Right Now?

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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 value investors might notice is Hilltop Holdings (HTH). HTH is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is HTH's P/B ratio of 1.01. 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. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.59. Over the past year, HTH's P/B has been as high as 1.10 and as low as 0.80, with a median of 0.94.

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 popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. HTH has a P/S ratio of 1.29. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.89.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Hilltop Holdings's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, HTH looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.

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