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.
Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.
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 CNO Financial Group (CNO). CNO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.
Another notable valuation metric for CNO is its P/B ratio of 1.52. 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 company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.28. Within the past 52 weeks, CNO's P/B has been as high as 1.75 and as low as 1.31, with a median of 1.50.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio 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. CNO has a P/S ratio of 0.86. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.02.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in CNO Financial 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, CNO looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
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CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).