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Are Investors Undervaluing Lincoln National (LNC) 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.

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.

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 company to watch right now is Lincoln National (LNC - Free Report) . LNC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 4.24, while its industry has an average P/E of 9.36. LNC's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.97 and as low as 4.24, with a median of 6.08, all within the past year.

LNC is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.47. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. LNC's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.90. Over the past 52 weeks, LNC's PEG has been as high as 1 and as low as 0.47, with a median of 0.68.

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. LNC has a P/S ratio of 0.51. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.63.

Finally, we should also recognize that LNC has a P/CF ratio of 10.36. 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 company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 15.68. Over the past 52 weeks, LNC's P/CF has been as high as 15.47 and as low as 7.11, with a median of 9.11.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Lincoln National'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, LNC looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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