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Should Value Investors Buy MetLife (MET) Stock?

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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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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.

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 is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.38, which compares to its industry's average of 10.32. Over the past year, MET's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.25 and as low as 5.89, with a median of 7.54.

Investors should also recognize that MET has a P/B ratio of 0.79. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 1.59. Over the past year, MET's P/B has been as high as 0.89 and as low as 0.42, with a median of 0.58.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. MET has a P/S ratio of 0.8. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.14.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that MetLife is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, MET sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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