Are Investors Undervaluing Ageas (AGESY) Right Now?
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 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 Ageas (AGESY). AGESY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 5.35 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 7.87. AGESY's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.05 and as low as 5.24, with a median of 6.52, all within the past year.
We also note that AGESY holds a PEG ratio of 0.38. 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. AGESY's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.68. Over the past 52 weeks, AGESY's PEG has been as high as 1.04 and as low as 0.32, with a median of 0.73.
Another valuation metric that we should highlight is AGESY's P/B ratio of 0.86. 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 2.39. Over the past 12 months, AGESY's P/B has been as high as 1.06 and as low as 0.58, with a median of 0.86.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is 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. AGESY has a P/S ratio of 0.6. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.72.
Another great Insurance - Multi line stock you could consider is Old Republic International (ORI), which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.
Additionally, Old Republic International has a P/B ratio of 1.27 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 2.39. For ORI, this valuation metric has been as high as 1.32, as low as 0.98, with a median of 1.23 over the past year.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in Ageas and Old Republic International strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, AGESY and ORI look like an impressive value stock at the moment.
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Ageas SA (AGESY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Old Republic International Corporation (ORI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
