Should Value Investors Buy Horace Mann Educators (HMN) Stock?
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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.
Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.
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.
One stock to keep an eye on is Horace Mann Educators (HMN). HMN is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A.
Another notable valuation metric for HMN is its P/B ratio of 1.25. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with 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 2.76. Over the past year, HMN's P/B has been as high as 1.32 and as low as 1.09, with a median of 1.20.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. HMN has a P/S ratio of 0.98. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.04.
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Horace Mann Educators is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, HMN feels like a great value stock at the moment.
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Horace Mann Educators Corporation (HMN) : Free Stock Analysis Report