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Are Investors Undervaluing Cigna (CI) 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.

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.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is Cigna (CI - Free Report) . CI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

CI is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. CI's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.52. Within the past year, CI's PEG has been as high as 1.04 and as low as 0.78, with a median of 0.92.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. CI has a P/S ratio of 0.47. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.83.

Investors could also keep in mind Oscar Health (OSCR - Free Report) , an Insurance - Multi line stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Shares of Oscar Health are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of -2.25 and a PEG ratio of -0.08 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 10.25 and 1.52, respectively.

OSCR's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as -2.07 and as low as -13.87, with a median of -5.75, while its PEG ratio has been as high as -0.08 and as low as -0.73, with a median of -0.35, all within the past year.

Additionally, Oscar Health has a P/B ratio of 0.74 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 1.75. For OSCR, this valuation metric has been as high as 3.39, as low as 0.74, with a median of 1.46 over the past year.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Cigna and Oscar Health are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, CI and OSCR feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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