Should Value Investors Buy Ageas (AGESY) Stock?
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.
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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.
In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.
Ageas (AGESY) is a stock many investors are watching right now. AGESY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 5.45, which compares to its industry's average of 8.63. Over the past year, AGESY's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.05 and as low as 5.29, with a median of 7.25.
We also note that AGESY holds a PEG ratio of 0.33. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. AGESY's industry currently sports an average PEG of 0.76. Over the last 12 months, AGESY's PEG has been as high as 1.04 and as low as 0.32, with a median of 0.77.
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 0.61. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.73.
CNO Financial Group (CNO) may be another strong Insurance - Multi line stock to add to your shortlist. CNO is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.
Furthermore, CNO Financial Group holds a P/B ratio of 1.33 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 2.25. CNO's P/B has been as high as 2.13, as low as 0.87, with a median of 1.35 over the past 12 months.
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Ageas and CNO Financial Group are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, AGESY and CNO feels like a great value stock at the moment.
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Ageas SA (AGESY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
