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Is ASGN Inc (ASGN) Stock Undervalued 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.

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.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

ASGN Inc (ASGN - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. ASGN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 17.01 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 27.61. Over the past year, ASGN's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.19 and as low as 6.30, with a median of 14.81.

We also note that ASGN holds a PEG ratio of 2.19. 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. ASGN's industry has an average PEG of 2.23 right now. Over the last 12 months, ASGN's PEG has been as high as 3.10 and as low as 0.70, with a median of 2.22.

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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. ASGN has a P/S ratio of 1.12. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.56.

Finally, we should also recognize that ASGN has a P/CF ratio of 16.54. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. ASGN's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 36.28. ASGN's P/CF has been as high as 16.87 and as low as 6.11, with a median of 13.20, all within the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that ASGN Inc is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, ASGN sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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