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Are Investors Undervaluing MetLife (MET) Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

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 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.

One company value investors might notice is MetLife (MET - Free Report) . MET is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 7.75, while its industry has an average P/E of 8.60. MET's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.09 and as low as 6.84, with a median of 8.67, all within the past year.

Investors should also note that MET holds a PEG ratio of 0.62. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. MET's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.87. Over the past 52 weeks, MET's PEG has been as high as 1.23 and as low as 0.54, with a median of 0.73.

Investors should also recognize that MET has a P/B ratio of 0.83. 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. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.49. Within the past 52 weeks, MET's P/B has been as high as 0.98 and as low as 0.73, with a median of 0.84.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. MET has a P/S ratio of 0.63. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.98.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in MetLife's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, MET looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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