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Are Investors Undervaluing These Finance Stocks Right Now?

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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.

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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 9.37 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 9.99. Over the last 12 months, CNO's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.46 and as low as 9.33, with a median of 10.60.

Another notable valuation metric for CNO is its P/B ratio of 0.53. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. CNO's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.28. 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 frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. 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 0.66. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.91.

If you're looking for another solid Insurance - Multi line value stock, take a look at Old Republic International (ORI - Free Report) . ORI is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Old Republic International sports a P/B ratio of 1.13 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.28. In the past 52 weeks, ORI's P/B has been as high as 1.28, as low as 0.99, with a median of 1.16.

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


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

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