Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is CNA Financial (CNA) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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 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.

One company to watch right now is CNA Financial (CNA - Free Report) . CNA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 10.17 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 26.08. Over the past 52 weeks, CNA's Forward P/E has been as high as 17.37 and as low as 9.82, with a median of 12.16.

Investors will also notice that CNA has a PEG ratio of 2.03. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. CNA's industry has an average PEG of 3.06 right now. CNA's PEG has been as high as 3.47 and as low as 1.96, with a median of 2.43, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for CNA is its P/B ratio of 1.04. 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 1.43. Within the past 52 weeks, CNA's P/B has been as high as 1.23 and as low as 1, with a median of 1.15.

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


CNA Financial Corporation (CNA) - free report >>

Published in