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Is Lincoln National (LNC) Stock Undervalued 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.

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 fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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 Lincoln National (LNC - Free Report) . LNC 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 6.12 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 8.14. Over the past 52 weeks, LNC's Forward P/E has been as high as 7.81 and as low as 5.18, with a median of 6.55.

We also note that LNC holds a PEG ratio of 0.68. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. LNC's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.74. Over the last 12 months, LNC's PEG has been as high as 0.79 and as low as 0.58, with a median of 0.73.

Another notable valuation metric for LNC is its P/B ratio of 0.66. 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. LNC's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.70. LNC's P/B has been as high as 1 and as low as 0.56, with a median of 0.81, over the past year.

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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. LNC has a P/S ratio of 0.71. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.74.

Finally, investors should note that LNC has a P/CF ratio of 8.38. 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. LNC's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 15.41. Over the past 52 weeks, LNC's P/CF has been as high as 9.17 and as low as 5.19, with a median of 7.80.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Lincoln National'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, LNC looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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