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Should Value Investors Buy These Finance Stocks?

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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 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 stock to keep an eye on is Aegon (AEG - Free Report) . AEG is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 7.31, while its industry has an average P/E of 10.80. AEG's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.11 and as low as 4.84, with a median of 6.52, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for AEG is its P/B ratio of 0.52. 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. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.55. Within the past 52 weeks, AEG's P/B has been as high as 0.52 and as low as 0.33, with a median of 0.42.

Horace Mann Educators (HMN - Free Report) may be another strong Insurance - Multi line stock to add to your shortlist. HMN is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Additionally, Horace Mann Educators has a P/B ratio of 0.90 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 1.55. For HMN, this valuation metric has been as high as 1.07, as low as 0.84, with a median of 0.92 over the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Aegon and Horace Mann Educators strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, AEG and HMN look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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