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Is First American Financial (FAF) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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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.

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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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.

One stock to keep an eye on is First American Financial (FAF - Free Report) . FAF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 11.43 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 25.81. Over the last 12 months, FAF's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.32 and as low as 9.75, with a median of 11.61.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is FAF's P/B ratio of 1.31. 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. FAF's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.40. Over the past year, FAF's P/B has been as high as 1.43 and as low as 1.08, with a median of 1.29.

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 preferred metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. FAF has a P/S ratio of 0.94. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.27.

If you're looking for another solid Insurance - Property and Casualty value stock, take a look at Fairfax Financial (FRFHF - Free Report) . FRFHF is a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Fairfax Financial sports a P/B ratio of 1.39 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.40. In the past 52 weeks, FRFHF's P/B has been as high as 1.51, as low as 1.02, with a median of 1.20.

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

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