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Is CNA Financial (CNA) Stock Undervalued 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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company to watch right now is CNA Financial (CNA - Free Report) . CNA is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.19. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 30.43. Over the last 12 months, CNA's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.41 and as low as 8.99, with a median of 10.27.

We also note that CNA holds a PEG ratio of 2.04. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. CNA's industry has an average PEG of 2.85 right now. Over the past 52 weeks, CNA's PEG has been as high as 2.28 and as low as 1.80, with a median of 2.05.

We should also highlight that CNA has a P/B ratio of 1.42. 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 1.52. Over the past year, CNA's P/B has been as high as 1.43 and as low as 0.92, with a median of 1.15.

Investors could also keep in mind First American Financial (FAF - Free Report) , an Insurance - Property and Casualty stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Furthermore, First American Financial holds a P/B ratio of 1.20 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 1.52. FAF's P/B has been as high as 1.54, as low as 0.95, with a median of 1.20 over the past 12 months.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that CNA Financial and First American Financial are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, CNA and FAF feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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