Is CNO Financial a Great Stock for Value Investors?

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 has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 14.94, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 19.85. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, CNO Financials’ current PE level puts it above its midpoint over the past five years.

However, the stock’s PE compares unfavorably with the Zacks classified Insurance - Multi line industry’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 13.76. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively overvalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out that CNO Financial has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 13.95, so it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for CNO Financial stock in the near term too.

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 has a P/S ratio of about 0.90. This is a bit lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.13 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

If anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, CNO Financial 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 a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.   

For example, the P/CF ratio (another great indicator of value) comes in at 4.38, which is far better than the industry average of 7.60. Clearly, CNO is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though CNO Financial 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 ‘D’ and a Momentum score of ‘A’. This gives CNO a Zacks VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of ‘B’. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. The current year has seen two estimates go higher in the past thirty days compared to one lower. This has had just a small impact on the consensus estimate though as the estimate has risen by 1.3% in the same time period. 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. Quote

Despite this positive trend, the stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which indicates expectations of in-line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

CNO Financial is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Moreover, a strong industry rank (Top 32% out of more than 250 industries) further supports the growth potential of the stock. In fact, over the past one year, the Zacks Insurance - Multi line industry has clearly outperformed the broader market, as you can see below:

So, despite a Zacks Rank #3, we believe that bullish analyst sentiment and favorable industry factors make this value stock a compelling pick.

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CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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