Should Value Investors Buy Centene (CNC) Stock?

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.Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.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 company value investors might notice is Centene (CNC). CNC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.35. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.06. Over the past 52 weeks, CNC's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.40 and as low as 4.41, with a median of 8.43. Investors will also notice that CNC has a PEG ratio of 0.82. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. CNC's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.93. Within the past year, CNC's PEG has been as high as 0.98 and as low as 0.38, with a median of 0.77.Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio 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. CNC has a P/S ratio of 0.15. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.32.These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Centene is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, CNC feels like a great value stock at the moment.Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is HereThe AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.See Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks