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Should Value Investors Buy AmerisourceBergen (ABC) 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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 AmerisourceBergen . ABC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 11.95. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.83. ABC's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.32 and as low as 10.10, with a median of 11.90, all within the past year.

Investors should also note that ABC holds a PEG ratio of 1.58. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. ABC's industry has an average PEG of 1.76 right now. Over the last 12 months, ABC's PEG has been as high as 1.59 and as low as 1.10, with a median of 1.29.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that ABC has a P/CF ratio of 11.92. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 15.80. Within the past 12 months, ABC's P/CF has been as high as 15.84 and as low as 6.91, with a median of 10.29.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in AmerisourceBergen'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 ABC is an impressive value stock right now.

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