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Is CNO Financial Group (CNO) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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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, 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 use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

CNO Financial Group (CNO - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. CNO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value.

Another notable valuation metric for CNO is its P/B ratio of 1.93. 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 2.56. CNO's P/B has been as high as 2.13 and as low as 0.54, with a median of 0.99, over the past year.

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. CNO has a P/S ratio of 0.73. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.81.

Finally, our model also underscores that CNO has a P/CF ratio of 3.72. 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. CNO's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 5.56. Over the past 52 weeks, CNO's P/CF has been as high as 4.29 and as low as 2.36, with a median of 3.06.

If you're looking for another solid Insurance - Multi line value stock, take a look at Ping An Insurance Co. of China (PNGAY - Free Report) . PNGAY is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Ping An Insurance Co. of China sports a P/B ratio of 0.71 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.56. In the past 52 weeks, PNGAY's P/B has been as high as 0.90, as low as 0.43, with a median of 0.68.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that CNO Financial Group and Ping An Insurance Co. of China are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, CNO and PNGAY feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO) - free report >>

Ping An Insurance Co. of China Ltd. (PNGAY) - free report >>

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