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Are Investors Undervaluing CNO Financial Group (CNO) 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company to watch right now is CNO Financial Group (CNO - Free Report) . CNO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value.

We should also highlight that CNO has a P/B ratio of 1.43. 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 2.54. Over the past year, CNO's P/B has been as high as 1.67 and as low as 1.15, with a median of 1.36.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. CNO has a P/S ratio of 0.79. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.01.

Finally, investors should note that CNO has a P/CF ratio of 8.14. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. CNO's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 8.66. Over the past 52 weeks, CNO's P/CF has been as high as 11.52 and as low as 4.83, with a median of 7.64.

Another great Insurance - Multi line stock you could consider is MetLife (MET - Free Report) , which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Shares of MetLife currently holds a Forward P/E ratio of 7.83, and its PEG ratio is 0.54. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 8.74 and 0.58.


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