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Is Unum Group (UNM) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. 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 Unum Group (UNM - Free Report) . UNM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 6.48, which compares to its industry's average of 10.57. Over the past 52 weeks, UNM's Forward P/E has been as high as 7.36 and as low as 4.46, with a median of 5.53.

We also note that UNM holds a PEG ratio of 0.55. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. UNM's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.60. Within the past year, UNM's PEG has been as high as 1.12 and as low as 0.48, with a median of 0.59.

Another notable valuation metric for UNM is its P/B ratio of 0.68. 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 1.13. Over the past year, UNM's P/B has been as high as 0.71 and as low as 0.41, with a median of 0.50.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. UNM has a P/S ratio of 0.59. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.68.

Finally, we should also recognize that UNM has a P/CF ratio of 6.41. 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. UNM's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 6.72. UNM's P/CF has been as high as 6.86 and as low as 4.90, with a median of 5.89, all within the past year.

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


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