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Should Value Investors Buy Genworth Financial (GNW) 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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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.

Genworth Financial (GNW - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. GNW is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

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. GNW has a P/S ratio of 0.45. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.76.

Finally, investors should note that GNW has a P/CF ratio of 12.32. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 17.26. Over the past 52 weeks, GNW's P/CF has been as high as 17.53 and as low as 6.47, with a median of 10.08.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Genworth Financial's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that GNW is an impressive value stock right now.

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