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Should Value Investors Buy Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

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.

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.

Affiliated Managers Group (AMG - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. AMG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 7.42, which compares to its industry's average of 15.66. AMG's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.28 and as low as 6.20, with a median of 7.07, all within the past year.

Investors will also notice that AMG has a PEG ratio of 0.58. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. AMG's industry has an average PEG of 0.91 right now. Over the last 12 months, AMG's PEG has been as high as 1.01 and as low as 0.55, with a median of 0.68.

Another notable valuation metric for AMG is its P/B ratio of 1.21. 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 2.91. Over the past year, AMG's P/B has been as high as 1.34 and as low as 0.95, with a median of 1.16.

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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. AMG has a P/S ratio of 2.64. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.72.

Finally, investors should note that AMG has a P/CF ratio of 9.22. 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. AMG's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 17.53. AMG's P/CF has been as high as 9.42 and as low as 4, with a median of 4.75, all within the past year.

If you're looking for another solid Financial - Investment Management value stock, take a look at Federated Hermes (FHI - Free Report) . FHI is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Shares of Federated Hermes are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of 9.65 and a PEG ratio of 0.79 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 15.66 and 0.91, respectively.

FHI's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.15 and as low as 8.84, with a median of 9.82. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.80, as low as 0.57, with a median of 0.67.

Federated Hermes also has a P/B ratio of 2.71 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.91. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 3.56, as low as 2.39, with a median of 2.67.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Affiliated Managers Group and Federated Hermes'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 AMG and FHI is an impressive value stock right now.


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