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Is American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) Stock Undervalued 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.

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 stock to keep an eye on is American Eagle Outfitters (AEO - Free Report) . AEO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 12.49, while its industry has an average P/E of 14.37. Over the past year, AEO's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.09 and as low as 9.32, with a median of 12.54.

Investors will also notice that AEO has a PEG ratio of 0.82. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. AEO's industry currently sports an average PEG of 0.86. Over the last 12 months, AEO's PEG has been as high as 3.12 and as low as 0.74, with a median of 1.21.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is AEO's P/B ratio of 1.76. 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 solid versus its industry's average P/B of 3.46. Over the past 12 months, AEO's P/B has been as high as 2.08 and as low as 1.20, with a median of 1.60.

Finally, our model also underscores that AEO has a P/CF ratio of 6.75. 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. AEO's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 12.70. Over the past 52 weeks, AEO's P/CF has been as high as 9.96 and as low as 4.61, with a median of 7.63.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that American Eagle Outfitters is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, AEO sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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