Should Value Investors Buy Assurant (AIZ) Stock?

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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

Assurant (AIZ) is a stock many investors are watching right now. AIZ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

Another notable valuation metric for AIZ is its P/B ratio of 1.94. 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 solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2.74. Over the past 12 months, AIZ's P/B has been as high as 2.25 and as low as 1.71, with a median of 1.98.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by 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. AIZ has a P/S ratio of 1.04. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.07.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Assurant'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 AIZ is an impressive value stock right now.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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