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Is Home Bancorp (HBCP) Stock Undervalued 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.

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 use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One stock to keep an eye on is Home Bancorp (HBCP - Free Report) . HBCP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 9.53, while its industry has an average P/E of 10.95. Over the past 52 weeks, HBCP's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.78 and as low as 7.77, with a median of 8.89.

We should also highlight that HBCP has a P/B ratio of 0.90. 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 stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.96. Over the past year, HBCP's P/B has been as high as 1.02 and as low as 0.74, with a median of 0.82.

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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. HBCP has a P/S ratio of 1.78. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.98.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that HBCP has a P/CF ratio of 7.58. 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. HBCP's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 17.11. HBCP's P/CF has been as high as 8.30 and as low as 5.05, with a median of 6.26, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Home Bancorp'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 HBCP is an impressive value stock right now.


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