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Should Value Investors Buy Unum Group (UNM) Stock?

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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, 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.

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 Unum Group (UNM - Free Report) . UNM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 6 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 10.57. UNM's Forward P/E has been as high as 7.02 and as low as 5.33, with a median of 6.04, all within the past year.

We also note that UNM holds a PEG ratio of 0.75. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. UNM's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.64. Over the last 12 months, UNM's PEG has been as high as 1.03 and as low as 0.63, with a median of 0.79.

Another notable valuation metric for UNM is its P/B ratio of 1. 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 1.67. Over the past year, UNM's P/B has been as high as 1.07 and as low as 0.79, with a median of 0.96.

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 0.77. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.13.

Finally, investors should note that UNM has a P/CF ratio of 6.69. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 7.59. Within the past 12 months, UNM's P/CF has been as high as 7.78 and as low as 4.75, with a median of 5.96.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Unum Group's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, UNM looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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