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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.
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.
United Fire Group (UFCS) is a stock many investors are watching right now. UFCS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 10.16, while its industry has an average P/E of 27.47. Over the past 52 weeks, UFCS's Forward P/E has been as high as 20.43 and as low as 9.98, with a median of 11.30.
Investors should also recognize that UFCS has a P/B ratio of 0.94. 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. UFCS's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.43. UFCS's P/B has been as high as 1.02 and as low as 0.62, with a median of 0.87, over the past year.
Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. UFCS has a P/S ratio of 0.97. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.35.
Finally, we should also recognize that UFCS has a P/CF ratio of 7.83. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 10.31. Over the past 52 weeks, UFCS's P/CF has been as high as 13.42 and as low as 6.53, with a median of 9.51.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in United Fire Group'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, UFCS looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
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United Fire Group, Inc (UFCS): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).