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Are Investors Undervaluing Ameriprise Financial (AMP) Right Now?

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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, 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 use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Ameriprise Financial (AMP - Free Report) . AMP is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 12.26, while its industry has an average P/E of 12.40. 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 2.26. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.56.

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. AMP's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 29.16. 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.

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

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