Are Investors Undervaluing ING Group (ING) 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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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.

ING Group (ING) is a stock many investors are watching right now. ING is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 5.73 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 7.25. Over the past 52 weeks, ING's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.85 and as low as 5.63, with a median of 6.85.

Another notable valuation metric for ING is its P/B ratio of 0.82. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.48. Over the past 12 months, ING's P/B has been as high as 0.91 and as low as 0.55, with a median of 0.82.

Finally, our model also underscores that ING has a P/CF ratio of 7.14. 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. ING's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 12.08. Over the past year, ING's P/CF has been as high as 11.48 and as low as 5.98, with a median of 7.93.

Another great Banks - Foreign stock you could consider is Societe Generale Group (SCGLY), which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Societe Generale Group is trading at a forward earnings multiple of 4.86 at the moment, with a PEG ratio of 1.99. This compares to its industry's average P/E of 7.25 and average PEG ratio of 0.59.

Over the past year, SCGLY's P/E has been as high as 6.51, as low as 4.45, with a median of 5.08; its PEG ratio has been as high as 2.06, as low as 1.67, with a median of 0.27 during the same time period.

Societe Generale Group also has a P/B ratio of 0.27 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.48. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 0.34, as low as 0.23, with a median of 0.26.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in ING Group and Societe Generale Group strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, ING and SCGLY look like an impressive value stock at the moment.

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