Are Investors Undervaluing CNA Financial (CNA) Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

CNA Financial (CNA) is a stock many investors are watching right now. CNA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 9.15, while its industry has an average P/E of 25.99. CNA's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.66 and as low as 8.42, with a median of 9.13, all within the past year.

We also note that CNA holds a PEG ratio of 1.83. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. CNA's industry currently sports an average PEG of 2.48. Over the past 52 weeks, CNA's PEG has been as high as 2.33 and as low as 1.68, with a median of 1.83.

We should also highlight that CNA has a P/B ratio of 1.26. 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. CNA's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.37. CNA's P/B has been as high as 1.43 and as low as 1.13, with a median of 1.24, over the past year.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. CNA has a P/S ratio of 0.85. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.86.

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.

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