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Are These Finance Stocks a Great Value Stocks 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.

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.

Old Republic International (ORI - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. ORI is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.90, which compares to its industry's average of 10.58. ORI's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.95 and as low as 8.59, with a median of 10.53, all within the past year.

We should also highlight that ORI has a P/B ratio of 1.17. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.49. 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 1.14.

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. ORI has a P/S ratio of 0.82. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.99.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that ORI has a P/CF ratio of 5.16. 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. ORI's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.54. 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.

Investors could also keep in mind Scor (SCRYY - Free Report) , an Insurance - Multi line stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Additionally, Scor has a P/B ratio of 0.72 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 1.49. For SCRYY, this valuation metric has been as high as 0.95, as low as 0.66, with a median of 0.82 over the past year.

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


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