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Should Value Investors Buy Prudential Financial (PRU) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore 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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 Prudential Financial (PRU - Free Report) . PRU is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 7.14, which compares to its industry's average of 8.80. Over the past 52 weeks, PRU's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.91 and as low as 6.59, with a median of 7.64.

Investors should also recognize that PRU has a P/B ratio of 1.18. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. PRU's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.70. Over the past year, PRU's P/B has been as high as 1.55 and as low as 1.11, with a median of 1.32.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a preferred metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. PRU has a P/S ratio of 0.69. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.05.

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

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