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Are Investors Undervaluing Axa (AXAHY) 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.

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.

Axa (AXAHY - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. AXAHY is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.24. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.18. Over the past 52 weeks, AXAHY's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.49 and as low as 6.47, with a median of 7.89.

Investors should also note that AXAHY holds a PEG ratio of 1.06. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. AXAHY's industry has an average PEG of 1.68 right now. Over the last 12 months, AXAHY's PEG has been as high as 1.30 and as low as 0.38, with a median of 0.99.

Investors could also keep in mind Legal & General Group (LGGNY - Free Report) , an Insurance - Multi line stock with a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) and Value grade of A.

Legal & General Group also has a P/B ratio of 1.23 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.94. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 1.71, as low as 0.91, with a median of 1.26.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Axa and Legal & General Group are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, AXAHY and LGGNY feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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