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Should Value Investors Buy Globe Life (GL) Stock?

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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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. 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 stock to keep an eye on is Globe Life (GL - Free Report) . GL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.43, which compares to its industry's average of 14.64. GL's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.53 and as low as 4.15, with a median of 9.80, all within the past year.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is GL's P/B ratio of 1.87. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus 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 2.34. GL's P/B has been as high as 2.69 and as low as 0.92, with a median of 2.26, over the past year.

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. GL has a P/S ratio of 1.74. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.87.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that GL has a P/CF ratio of 6.96. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. GL's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.71. GL's P/CF has been as high as 9.08 and as low as 3.39, with a median of 6.95, all within the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Globe Life is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, GL sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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