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Is Ageas (AGESY) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore 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 use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Ageas (AGESY - Free Report) . AGESY is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 6.44. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 8.53. AGESY's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.05 and as low as 5.95, with a median of 7.60, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that AGESY has a P/B ratio of 0.75. 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 2.14. Within the past 52 weeks, AGESY's P/B has been as high as 0.87 and as low as 0.48, with a median of 0.73.

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. AGESY has a P/S ratio of 0.67. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.7.

Investors could also keep in mind Mnchener RckversicherungsGesellschaft (MURGY - Free Report) , an Insurance - Multi line stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Shares of Mnchener RckversicherungsGesellschaft currently holds a Forward P/E ratio of 9.85, and its PEG ratio is 0.54. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 8.53 and 0.79.

MURGY's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 13.63 and as low as 7.92, with a median of 10.21, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.76 and as low as 0.46, with a median of 0.53, all within the past year.

Furthermore, Mnchener RckversicherungsGesellschaft holds a P/B ratio of 2.01 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 2.14. MURGY's P/B has been as high as 2.10, as low as 0.87, with a median of 1.69 over the past 12 months.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Ageas and Mnchener RckversicherungsGesellschaft strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, AGESY and MURGY look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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