Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Manulife Financial (MFC) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

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 fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

One stock to keep an eye on is Manulife Financial (MFC - Free Report) . MFC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 7.61. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 7.92. Over the past 52 weeks, MFC's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.28 and as low as 6.16, with a median of 7.59.

Investors should also recognize that MFC has a P/B ratio of 1. 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. MFC's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.66. MFC's P/B has been as high as 1.15 and as low as 0.84, with a median of 1.01, over the past year.

Finally, our model also underscores that MFC has a P/CF ratio of 6.67. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. MFC's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 15. Over the past year, MFC's P/CF has been as high as 8.70 and as low as 6.11, with a median of 6.97.

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.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Manulife Financial Corp (MFC) - free report >>

Published in