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Should Value Investors Buy Old Republic International (ORI) Stock?

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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.

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.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Old Republic International (ORI - Free Report) . ORI is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.50. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.29. Over the last 12 months, ORI's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.95 and as low as 9.17, with a median of 10.70.

Another notable valuation metric for ORI is its P/B ratio of 1.26. 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. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.43. Over the past year, ORI's P/B has been as high as 1.28 and as low as 0.88, with a median of 1.11.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. ORI has a P/S ratio of 0.88. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.01.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that ORI has a P/CF ratio of 5.55. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. ORI's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 13.16. Over the past 52 weeks, ORI's P/CF has been as high as 18.38 and as low as 3.92, with a median of 5.03.

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


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