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Should Value Investors Buy Ping An Insurance Co. of China (PNGAY) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

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.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

Ping An Insurance Co. of China (PNGAY - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. PNGAY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 6.33, while its industry has an average P/E of 9.05. Over the last 12 months, PNGAY's Forward P/E has been as high as 7.81 and as low as 4.52, with a median of 5.81.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. PNGAY has a P/S ratio of 1.01. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.11.

Another great Insurance - Multi line stock you could consider is Scor (SCRYY - Free Report) , which is a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Scor also has a P/B ratio of 1.25 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.69. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 1.32, as low as 0.76, with a median of 1.01.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Ping An Insurance Co. of China and Scor are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, PNGAY and SCRYY sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

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