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Is CNA Financial (CNA) a Great Value Stock 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.

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 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 value investors might notice is CNA Financial (CNA - Free Report) . CNA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 9.47 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 27.07. CNA's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.34 and as low as 6.95, with a median of 11.51, all within the past year.

CNA is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.89. 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. CNA's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 3.29. Over the last 12 months, CNA's PEG has been as high as 2.67 and as low as 1.39, with a median of 2.31.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is CNA's P/B ratio of 0.85. 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 company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.42. Over the past 12 months, CNA's P/B has been as high as 1.13 and as low as 0.60, with a median of 1.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that CNA Financial is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, CNA sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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