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Should Value Investors Buy Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) 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 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 Affiliated Managers Group (AMG - Free Report) . AMG is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 7.92, while its industry has an average P/E of 13.28. Over the past 52 weeks, AMG's Forward P/E has been as high as 195.25 and as low as 5.85, with a median of 6.81.

We should also highlight that AMG has a P/B ratio of 1.62. 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 2.68. Over the past 12 months, AMG's P/B has been as high as 2.16 and as low as 1.17, with a median of 1.43.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. AMG has a P/S ratio of 2.39. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.43.

Finally, investors should note that AMG has a P/CF ratio of 11.03. 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 company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 25.02. Over the past year, AMG's P/CF has been as high as 13.45 and as low as 7.95, with a median of 9.81.

Another great Financial - Investment Management stock you could consider is Ameriprise Financial (AMP - Free Report) , which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Ameriprise Financial is trading at a forward earnings multiple of 11.30 at the moment, with a PEG ratio of 0.65. This compares to its industry's average P/E of 13.28 and average PEG ratio of 0.84.

Over the last 12 months, AMP's P/E has been as high as 57.02, as low as 7.92, with a median of 10.53, and its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.77, as low as 0.58, with a median of 0.66.

Ameriprise Financial sports a P/B ratio of 10.65 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.68. In the past 52 weeks, AMP's P/B has been as high as 10.87, as low as 5.14, with a median of 6.18.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Affiliated Managers Group and Ameriprise Financial strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, AMG and AMP look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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