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Should Value Investors Buy CNO Financial Group (CNO) Stock?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 CNO Financial Group (CNO - Free Report) . CNO is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A.

Another notable valuation metric for CNO is its P/B ratio of 1.42. 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 2.30. CNO's P/B has been as high as 1.67 and as low as 1.15, with a median of 1.35, over the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. CNO has a P/S ratio of 0.8. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.99.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that CNO has a P/CF ratio of 8.05. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. CNO's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 8.73. CNO's P/CF has been as high as 11.52 and as low as 4.94, with a median of 7.55, all within the past year.

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


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