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Is Plains All American Pipeline (PAA) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 company to watch right now is Plains All American Pipeline (PAA - Free Report) . PAA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 11.31 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 12.41. Over the past year, PAA's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.63 and as low as 9.36, with a median of 12.16.

Investors will also notice that PAA has a PEG ratio of 1.49. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. PAA's industry has an average PEG of 2.82 right now. Over the past 52 weeks, PAA's PEG has been as high as 2 and as low as 1.20, with a median of 1.61.

Investors should also recognize that PAA has a P/B ratio of 1.62. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.89. PAA's P/B has been as high as 2.34 and as low as 1.50, with a median of 1.80, over the past year.

Finally, we should also recognize that PAA has a P/CF ratio of 5.45. 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 company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 8.95. Over the past year, PAA's P/CF has been as high as 17.23 and as low as 5.27, with a median of 9.56.

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


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