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Are These Finance Stocks a Great Value Stocks 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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is CNO Financial Group (CNO - Free Report) . CNO is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 10.26 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 10.84. Over the past 52 weeks, CNO's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.46 and as low as 9.33, with a median of 10.65.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is CNO's P/B ratio of 0.58. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to 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 1.53. Over the past year, CNO's P/B has been as high as 0.75 and as low as 0.52, with a median of 0.59.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. CNO has a P/S ratio of 0.75. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.9.

Finally, investors should note that CNO has a P/CF ratio of 4.09. 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 company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.91. CNO's P/CF has been as high as 6.12 and as low as 3.75, with a median of 4.18, all within the past year.

Horace Mann Educators (HMN - Free Report) may be another strong Insurance - Multi line stock to add to your shortlist. HMN is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Horace Mann Educators also has a P/B ratio of 0.93 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.53. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 1.07, as low as 0.84, with a median of 0.92.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in CNO Financial Group and Horace Mann Educators strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, CNO and HMN look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO) - free report >>

Horace Mann Educators Corporation (HMN) - free report >>

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