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Are Investors Undervaluing Heidrick & Struggles International (HSII) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. 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 value investors might notice is Heidrick & Struggles International (HSII - Free Report) . HSII is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.80 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 13.81. Over the past 52 weeks, HSII's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.95 and as low as 7.23, with a median of 10.45.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is HSII's P/B ratio of 1.20. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with 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 2.20. Over the past 12 months, HSII's P/B has been as high as 1.69 and as low as 1.13, with a median of 1.39.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that HSII has a P/CF ratio of 7.01. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 9.08. Over the past 52 weeks, HSII's P/CF has been as high as 8.02 and as low as 5.56, with a median of 6.71.

GEE Group (JOB - Free Report) may be another strong Staffing Firms stock to add to your shortlist. JOB is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Shares of GEE Group currently holds a Forward P/E ratio of 6.02, and its PEG ratio is 0.40. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 13.81 and 1.52.

JOB's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.57 and as low as 4.58, with a median of 6.16. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.57, as low as 0.31, with a median of 0.41.

Furthermore, GEE Group holds a P/B ratio of 0.62 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 2.20. JOB's P/B has been as high as 0.90, as low as 0.41, with a median of 0.57 over the past 12 months.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Heidrick & Struggles International and GEE Group are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, HSII and JOB sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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