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Is MetLife (MET) Stock Undervalued 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, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. 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 stock to keep an eye on is MetLife (MET - Free Report) . MET is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 7.96, which compares to its industry's average of 8.80. Over the past 52 weeks, MET's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.03 and as low as 6.52, with a median of 7.63.

We also note that MET holds a PEG ratio of 0.55. 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. MET's industry has an average PEG of 0.59 right now. MET's PEG has been as high as 0.73 and as low as 0.49, with a median of 0.55, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that MET has a P/B ratio of 1.92. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. MET's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.58. Over the past year, MET's P/B has been as high as 1.98 and as low as 1.58, with a median of 1.77.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. MET has a P/S ratio of 0.78. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.96.

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


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