Should Value Investors Choose CNO Financial (CNO) Stock Now?

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put CNO Financial Group, Inc. CNO stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, CNO Financial Group has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 7.54, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 19.98. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, CNO Financial Group’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint over the past five years. Moreover, the current level is fairly below the highs for this stock, suggesting it might be a good entry point.

 
Moreover, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks Finance sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 12.7. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is slightly undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

 
We should also point out that CNO Financial Group has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 8.34, so it is fair to expect an increase in the company’s share price in the near future.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, CNO Financial Group has a P/S ratio of about 0.59. This is relatively lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.34 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is well below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

If anything, CNO is in the lower end of its range in the time period from a P/S metric, suggesting some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, CNO Financial Group currently has a Zacks Value Style Score of A, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes CNO Financial Group a solid choice for value investors.

For example, the P/CF ratio for CNO Financial Group comes in at 0.60, which is slightly better than the industry average of 0.76. Clearly, CNO is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles.

What about the Stock Overall?

Though CNO Financial Group might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of A and a Momentum score of D. This gives CNO a Zacks VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. The current year consensus estimate has declined 17% in the past two months, whereas the next year estimates declined 1.6% in the past two months. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

CNO Financial Group, Inc. Price and Consensus

CNO Financial Group, Inc. Price and Consensus

CNO Financial Group, Inc. price-consensus-chart | CNO Financial Group, Inc. Quote

Owing to the bearish estimate trend, the stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which is why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

CNO Financial Group is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about this company overall.  In fact, over the past two years, the Zacks Finance sector has clearly underperformed the market at large, as you can see below:

So, value investors might want to wait for estimates, analyst sentiment and broader factors to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.

More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!

It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.

Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2021.

Click here for the 6 trades >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research