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Should Value Investors Buy Manulife Financial (MFC) Stock?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

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.

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.

Manulife Financial (MFC - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. MFC 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 6.87, which compares to its industry's average of 8.56. Over the last 12 months, MFC's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.19 and as low as 6.16, with a median of 8.74.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is MFC's P/B ratio of 0.89. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with 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 1.68. Within the past 52 weeks, MFC's P/B has been as high as 1.46 and as low as 0.85, with a median of 1.14.

Finally, we should also recognize that MFC has a P/CF ratio of 7.32. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 16.45. Over the past year, MFC's P/CF has been as high as 14.68 and as low as 6.97, with a median of 11.02.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Manulife 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 MFC is an impressive value stock right now.


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