Is HP (HPQ) Stock A Profitable Pick For Value Investors Now?

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, HP has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 7.28, as you can see in the chart below:

This level also compares quite favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 16.89. Meanwhile, if we focus on the long-term PE trend, HP’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint of 9.45 over the past five years.

The stock’s PE also compares very favorably with the Computer and Technology Market’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 22.2. This indicates that the stock is undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out HP has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 7.14, so it is fair to say that a more value-oriented path is ahead of the stock in the near term.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, HP has a P/S ratio of 0.43. This is much lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 2.93 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is somewhat below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, HP currently has a Value Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes HP a solid choice for value investors and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.

For example, the P/CF ratio comes in at 6.13, which is much better than the industry average of 12.17. Clearly, HPQ is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though HP might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of B and a Momentum Score of C. This gives HPQ a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>).

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been mixed at best. While the current-quarter estimate has seen no upward and three downward movements, the current-year estimate has seen four upward and no downward movements over the past two months.

This has had a mixed effect on the consensus estimate. While the current-quarter consensus has dropped 5.6% over the past two months, the current-year estimate has increased 5.2%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

HP Inc. Price and Consensus

HP Inc. Price and Consensus

HP Inc. price-consensus-chart | HP Inc. Quote

Despite this mixed trend, the stock has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and it is the reason why we are looking for outperformance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

HP is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Besides a strong industry rank (among top 7% of more than 250 industries), a Zacks Rank #1 instils investors’ optimism in the stock.
Also, over the past two years, the broader industry has clearly outperformed the market at large, as you can see below:

We believe, despite mixed analyst sentiments, a favorable past industry performance, good industry and Zacks ranks signal that the stock is likely to benefit from favorable broader factors in the immediate future. Add to this robust value metrics, and we believe that we have a strong value contender in HP.

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