Are Investors Undervaluing The Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG) Right Now?

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.

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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is The Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG). HIG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.46, which compares to its industry's average of 9.92. Over the past 52 weeks, HIG's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.52 and as low as 8.15, with a median of 10.12.

We should also highlight that HIG has a P/B ratio of 1.50. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. HIG's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.69. Over the past 12 months, HIG's P/B has been as high as 1.59 and as low as 1.18, with a median of 1.39.

Finally, our model also underscores that HIG has a P/CF ratio of 8.03. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. HIG's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 8.06. Over the past 52 weeks, HIG's P/CF has been as high as 9.28 and as low as 5.54, with a median of 7.58.

Investors could also keep in mind Swiss Re (SSREY), an Insurance - Multi line stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Additionally, Swiss Re has a P/B ratio of 1.01 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 1.69. For SSREY, this valuation metric has been as high as 1.49, as low as 0.98, with a median of 1.22 over the past year.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that The Hartford Financial Services Group and Swiss Re are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, HIG and SSREY feels like a great value stock at the moment.

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
 
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (HIG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Swiss Re Ltd. (SSREY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.