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Is Morgan Stanley (MS) a Great Value Stock 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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 company to watch right now is Morgan Stanley (MS - Free Report) . MS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

Another notable valuation metric for MS is its P/B ratio of 1.04. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus 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. Within the past 52 weeks, MS's P/B has been as high as 1.51 and as low as 1.04, with a median of 1.30.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. MS has a P/S ratio of 1.43. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.44.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that MS has a P/CF ratio of 7.62. 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 17.21. MS's P/CF has been as high as 13.33 and as low as 7.62, with a median of 10.60, all within the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Morgan Stanley's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, MS looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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