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Is United Fire Group (UFCS) 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, 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 fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

United Fire Group (UFCS - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. UFCS is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.64, which compares to its industry's average of 27.74. Over the past year, UFCS's Forward P/E has been as high as 20.43 and as low as 10.36, with a median of 12.97.

Investors should also recognize that UFCS has a P/B ratio of 0.86. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.55. Within the past 52 weeks, UFCS's P/B has been as high as 1.02 and as low as 0.62, with a median of 0.84.

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. UFCS has a P/S ratio of 0.56. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.29.

Finally, investors should note that UFCS has a P/CF ratio of 9.51. 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 company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 10.72. Over the past 52 weeks, UFCS's P/CF has been as high as 13.42 and as low as 8.19, with a median of 9.84.

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


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