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Is Manulife Financial Corp (MFC) 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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 stock to keep an eye on is Manulife Financial Corp (MFC - Free Report) . MFC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is MFC's P/B ratio of 1.10. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.59. Within the past 52 weeks, MFC's P/B has been as high as 1.22 and as low as 0.77, with a median of 1.08.

Finally, investors should note that MFC has a P/CF ratio of 6.09. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. MFC's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 10.44. Over the past year, MFC's P/CF has been as high as 7.70 and as low as 5.22, with a median of 6.15.

Reinsurance Group of America (RGA - Free Report) may be another strong Insurance - Life Insurance stock to add to your shortlist. RGA is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Furthermore, Reinsurance Group of America holds a P/B ratio of 1.22 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 1.59. RGA's P/B has been as high as 2.66, as low as 1.14, with a median of 1.28 over the past 12 months.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Manulife Financial Corp and Reinsurance Group of America's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that MFC and RGA is an impressive value stock right now.


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Manulife Financial Corp (MFC) - free report >>

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