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Are Investors Undervaluing Manulife Financial Corp (MFC) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

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 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.

Manulife Financial Corp (MFC - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. MFC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

Another notable valuation metric for MFC is its P/B ratio of 1.70. 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. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.99. Over the past year, MFC's P/B has been as high as 1.72 and as low as 1.04, with a median of 1.41.

Finally, our model also underscores that MFC has a P/CF ratio of 13.60. 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. MFC's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 16.86. Over the past 52 weeks, MFC's P/CF has been as high as 16.26 and as low as 5.66, with a median of 11.77.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Manulife Financial Corp is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, MFC feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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