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Are Investors Undervaluing AMN Healthcare Services (AMN) 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is AMN Healthcare Services (AMN - Free Report) . AMN is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.93. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.49. Over the last 12 months, AMN's Forward P/E has been as high as 24.18 and as low as 9.14, with a median of 12.25.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. AMN has a P/S ratio of 0.98. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.62.

Finally, our model also underscores that AMN has a P/CF ratio of 8.87. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 15.16. Within the past 12 months, AMN's P/CF has been as high as 18.64 and as low as 7.79, with a median of 9.56.

If you're looking for another solid Medical Services value stock, take a look at Premier (PINC - Free Report) . PINC is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Premier is trading at a forward earnings multiple of 12.22 at the moment, with a PEG ratio of 1.21. This compares to its industry's average P/E of 14.49 and average PEG ratio of 1.17.

Over the past year, PINC's P/E has been as high as 16.18, as low as 11.97, with a median of 13.89; its PEG ratio has been as high as 2.99, as low as 1.18, with a median of 1.96 during the same time period.

Additionally, Premier has a P/B ratio of 1.76 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 2.62. For PINC, this valuation metric has been as high as 2.17, as low as 1.71, with a median of 1.95 over the past year.

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


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