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Is CNA Financial (CNA) a Great Value Stock 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 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.

CNA Financial (CNA - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. CNA is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 9.7 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 27.12. Over the past year, CNA's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.18 and as low as 9.52, with a median of 10.26.

CNA is also sporting a PEG ratio of 3.90. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. CNA's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 4.15. CNA's PEG has been as high as 9.20 and as low as 3.19, with a median of 5.60, all within the past year.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is CNA's P/B ratio of 1.16. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with 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 1.53. CNA's P/B has been as high as 1.38 and as low as 1.10, with a median of 1.24, over the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. CNA has a P/S ratio of 0.84. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.24.

Universal Insurance Holdings (UVE - Free Report) may be another strong Insurance - Property and Casualty stock to add to your shortlist. UVE is a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Additionally, Universal Insurance Holdings has a P/B ratio of 1.58 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 1.53. For UVE, this valuation metric has been as high as 1.89, as low as 1.19, with a median of 1.54 over the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in CNA Financial and Universal Insurance Holdings strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, CNA and UVE look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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