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Are Investors Undervaluing Principal Financial Group (PFG) Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

Principal Financial Group (PFG - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. PFG is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.38, which compares to its industry's average of 10.57. Over the last 12 months, PFG's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.61 and as low as 8.62, with a median of 10.17.

Investors should also recognize that PFG has a P/B ratio of 1.66. 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 stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 2.14. Within the past 52 weeks, PFG's P/B has been as high as 1.82 and as low as 1.04, with a median of 1.27.

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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. PFG has a P/S ratio of 1.03. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.26.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Principal Financial Group's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, PFG looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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