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Is Franklin Resources (BEN) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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.

One stock to keep an eye on is Franklin Resources (BEN - Free Report) . BEN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 7.88 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 11.74. BEN's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.32 and as low as 6.50, with a median of 8.28, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for BEN is its P/B ratio of 1. 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 2.35. Over the past 12 months, BEN's P/B has been as high as 1.60 and as low as 0.95, with a median of 1.16.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. BEN has a P/S ratio of 1.44. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.37.

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

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