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Are Investors Undervaluing Unum Group (UNM) 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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 Unum Group (UNM - Free Report) . UNM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 6.36, while its industry has an average P/E of 10. Over the last 12 months, UNM's Forward P/E has been as high as 7.46 and as low as 5.47, with a median of 6.48.

Investors should also note that UNM holds a PEG ratio of 0.70. 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. UNM's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.66. Over the past 52 weeks, UNM's PEG has been as high as 1.03 and as low as 0.42, with a median of 0.54.

We should also highlight that UNM has a P/B ratio of 0.98. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.65. Over the past 12 months, UNM's P/B has been as high as 1.06 and as low as 0.62, with a median of 0.87.

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 0.76. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.12.

Finally, our model also underscores that UNM has a P/CF ratio of 5.62. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 6.68. UNM's P/CF has been as high as 6.70 and as low as 4.71, with a median of 5.65, 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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