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Are These Finance Stocks a Great Value Stocks Right Now?

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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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 Stewart Information Services (STC - Free Report) . STC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

Another notable valuation metric for STC is its P/B ratio of 1.18. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.42. Over the past year, STC's P/B has been as high as 1.77 and as low as 1.18, with a median of 1.47.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. STC has a P/S ratio of 0.46. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.1.

Finally, our model also underscores that STC has a P/CF ratio of 4.27. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 7.26. Over the past year, STC's P/CF has been as high as 7.24 and as low as 4.27, with a median of 5.82.

Investors could also keep in mind The Hanover Insurance Group (THG - Free Report) , an Insurance - Property and Casualty stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

The Hanover Insurance Group is trading at a forward earnings multiple of 14.06 at the moment, with a PEG ratio of 1.02. This compares to its industry's average P/E of 32.35 and average PEG ratio of 3.16.


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The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (THG) - free report >>

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