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Is CNO Financial (CNO) a Great Value Stock 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, 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 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.

One stock to keep an eye on is CNO Financial (CNO - Free Report) . CNO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 9.69, which compares to its industry's average of 10.15. CNO's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.19 and as low as 8.98, with a median of 10.78, all within the past year.

Investors should also note that CNO holds a PEG ratio of 0.90. 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. CNO's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.03. Within the past year, CNO's PEG has been as high as 1.62 and as low as 0.90, with a median of 1.16.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is CNO's P/B ratio of 0.77. 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 1.50. CNO's P/B has been as high as 0.91 and as low as 0.69, with a median of 0.80, over the past year.

Finally, investors should note that CNO has a P/CF ratio of 7.13. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 9.66. Over the past year, CNO's P/CF has been as high as 10.02 and as low as 5.30, with a median of 7.30.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in CNO Financial's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that CNO is an impressive value stock right now.


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