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Are Investors Undervaluing MetLife (MET) Right Now?

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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 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.

MetLife (MET - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. MET is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.25. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 8.91. Over the past year, MET's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.26 and as low as 6.84, with a median of 8.15.

Investors should also recognize that MET has a P/B ratio of 0.78. 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. MET's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.43. Within the past 52 weeks, MET's P/B has been as high as 0.92 and as low as 0.71, with a median of 0.83.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. MET has a P/S ratio of 0.65. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.07.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that MetLife is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, MET feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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