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Is American Financial Group (AFG) 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.

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 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 company to watch right now is American Financial Group (AFG - Free Report) . AFG is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 11.55, while its industry has an average P/E of 25.17. AFG's Forward P/E has been as high as 1,155.88 and as low as 10.14, with a median of 12.50, all within the past year.

Finally, our model also underscores that AFG has a P/CF ratio of 10.87. 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 27.41. AFG's P/CF has been as high as 11.73 and as low as 4.43, with a median of 6.27, all within the past year.

Investors could also keep in mind Mercury General (MCY - Free Report) , an Insurance - Property and Casualty stock with a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) and Value grade of A.

Mercury General also has a P/B ratio of 1.29 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.50. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 1.63, as low as 0.97, with a median of 1.36.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that American Financial Group and Mercury General are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, AFG and MCY feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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