Should Value Investors Buy CNO Financial Group (CNO) 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.

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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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.

CNO Financial Group (CNO Quick QuoteCNO – Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. CNO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

We should also highlight that CNO has a P/B ratio of 1.71. 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 2.52. Within the past 52 weeks, CNO’s P/B has been as high as 1.72 and as low as 1.15, with a median of 1.39.

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. CNO has a P/S ratio of 0.92. This compares to its industry’s average P/S of 1.06.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in CNO Financial Group’s great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that CNO is an impressive value stock right now.