Is United Fire Group (UFCS) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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 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 stock to keep an eye on is United Fire Group (UFCS). UFCS is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.92, which compares to its industry's average of 28.39. UFCS's Forward P/E has been as high as 20.43 and as low as 10.36, with a median of 13.71, all within the past year. We should also highlight that UFCS has a P/B ratio of 0.88. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. UFCS's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.56. UFCS's P/B has been as high as 1.02 and as low as 0.62, with a median of 0.83, over the past year.Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. UFCS has a P/S ratio of 0.56. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.29.Finally, investors will want to recognize that UFCS has a P/CF ratio of 9.72. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 10.90. Over the past 52 weeks, UFCS's P/CF has been as high as 13.42 and as low as -87.76, with a median of 9.83.These are just a handful of the figures considered in United Fire Group's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that UFCS is an impressive value stock right now.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>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 United Fire Group, Inc (UFCS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks