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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
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 Cigna (CI - Free Report) . CI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.68, which compares to its industry's average of 8.98. Over the last 12 months, CI's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.12 and as low as 8.12, with a median of 9.90.
We also note that CI holds a PEG ratio of 0.74. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. CI's industry has an average PEG of 1 right now. Over the past 52 weeks, CI's PEG has been as high as 1.16 and as low as 0.69, with a median of 0.80.
Another notable valuation metric for CI is its P/B ratio of 1.36. 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. CI's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.53. Over the past year, CI's P/B has been as high as 3.52 and as low as 1.26, with a median of 1.53.
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. CI has a P/S ratio of 0.57. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.08.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in Cigna'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, CI looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
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 Cigna (CI - Free Report) . CI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.68, which compares to its industry's average of 8.98. Over the last 12 months, CI's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.12 and as low as 8.12, with a median of 9.90.
We also note that CI holds a PEG ratio of 0.74. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. CI's industry has an average PEG of 1 right now. Over the past 52 weeks, CI's PEG has been as high as 1.16 and as low as 0.69, with a median of 0.80.
Another notable valuation metric for CI is its P/B ratio of 1.36. 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. CI's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.53. Over the past year, CI's P/B has been as high as 3.52 and as low as 1.26, with a median of 1.53.
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. CI has a P/S ratio of 0.57. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.08.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in Cigna'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, CI looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
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