Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Investors Undervaluing Ameriprise Financial (AMP) Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 to watch right now is Ameriprise Financial (AMP - Free Report) . AMP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 11.61. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.54. Over the past 52 weeks, AMP's Forward P/E has been as high as 57.02 and as low as 7.92, with a median of 10.53.

We also note that AMP holds a PEG ratio of 0.67. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. AMP's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.87. Within the past year, AMP's PEG has been as high as 0.77 and as low as 0.58, with a median of 0.66.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. AMP has a P/S ratio of 2.45. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.49.

Finally, our model also underscores that AMP has a P/CF ratio of 13.50. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 25.49. Over the past year, AMP's P/CF has been as high as 15.34 and as low as 7.92, with a median of 10.91.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Ameriprise Financial'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 AMP is an impressive value stock right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (AMP) - free report >>

Published in