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Should Value Investors Buy AMN Healthcare Services (AMN) Stock?

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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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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 sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 13.54, which compares to its industry's average of 15.17. AMN's Forward P/E has been as high as 23.46 and as low as 9.14, with a median of 12.25, all within the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. AMN has a P/S ratio of 0.95. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.33.

Finally, our model also underscores that AMN has a P/CF ratio of 8.93. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 15.68. Over the past year, AMN's P/CF has been as high as 18.64 and as low as 7.79, with a median of 9.35.

Premier (PINC - Free Report) may be another strong Medical Services stock to add to your shortlist. PINC is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Shares of Premier are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of 11.32 and a PEG ratio of 1.12 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 15.17 and 1.29, respectively.

PINC's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 16.18 and as low as 11.32, with a median of 13.83, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 2.32 and as low as 1.12, with a median of 1.48, all within the past year.

Premier sports a P/B ratio of 1.62 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.71. In the past 52 weeks, PINC's P/B has been as high as 2.17, as low as 1.62, with a median of 1.94.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in AMN Healthcare Services and Premier's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that AMN and PINC is an impressive value stock right now.


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