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Are Investors Undervaluing Humana (HUM) 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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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.

Humana (HUM - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. HUM is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 17.76, which compares to its industry's average of 18.07. Over the last 12 months, HUM's Forward P/E has been as high as 20.50 and as low as 16.25, with a median of 18.04.

Investors will also notice that HUM has a PEG ratio of 1.25. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. HUM's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.27. Over the past 52 weeks, HUM's PEG has been as high as 1.49 and as low as 1.15, with a median of 1.29.

We should also highlight that HUM has a P/B ratio of 4.22. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 4.36. HUM's P/B has been as high as 4.37 and as low as 3.46, with a median of 3.98, over the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Humana's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, HUM looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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