Should You Buy It: Genworth Not Worth Risk

Book value is one of the most reliable price-analysis metrics used in value investing. The idea is that book value -- the value of a company's assets minus all debt and liabilities -- provides a floor for a company's share price.

So when a company as large as Genworth FinancialGNW, $13 billion-plus insurer and retirement investment provider, falls down below its book value, the market takes notice.

The stock closed Monday at $30.46, up almost 15% from its lows set earlier in the month and just slightly above its book value at the end of the second quarter of $29.30.

Genworth has temporarily moved back above its book value but is still down about 10% year to date. With that in mind, I'm here to answer readers' questions: Should you buy shares in Genworth? Is the stock attractive to buy down around its book value, or will the insurer continue to suffer from the current credit crunch.

The company was carved out of General ElectricGE in 2004, and the recent weakness in Genworth shares is a result of its exposure to the subprime mortgage conundrum.

In addition to its mortgage insurance business, which accounts for about 20% of total earnings, Genworth also said Aug. 15 that it has $3.7 billion of collateralized debt holdings, backed by Alt-A and subprime mortgages.