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Should Value Investors Buy American Axle & Manufacturing (AXL) Stock?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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 value investors might notice is American Axle & Manufacturing (AXL - Free Report) . AXL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 6.74. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 19.10. Over the past year, AXL's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.27 and as low as -218.01, with a median of 6.73.

We also note that AXL holds a PEG ratio of 0.84. 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. AXL's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.31. Over the last 12 months, AXL's PEG has been as high as 2.39 and as low as -27.02, with a median of 0.83.

Investors should also recognize that AXL has a P/B ratio of 3.16. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.74. Over the past 12 months, AXL's P/B has been as high as 4.85 and as low as 1.90, with a median of 2.78.

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


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