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Is Ameriprise Financial (AMP) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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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, 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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One stock to keep an eye on is Ameriprise Financial (AMP - Free Report) . AMP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 12.26, while its industry has an average P/E of 14.26. AMP's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.63 and as low as 10.72, with a median of 13.43, all within the past year.

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 2.6. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.1.

Finally, our model also underscores that AMP has a P/CF ratio of 15.60. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 37.28. Over the past year, AMP's P/CF has been as high as 23.08 and as low as 14.74, with a median of 17.06.

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

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