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Are Investors Undervaluing AmerisourceBergen (ABC) 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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is AmerisourceBergen . ABC is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 11.97 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 19.22. Over the last 12 months, ABC's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.62 and as low as 10.10, with a median of 11.38.

Investors should also note that ABC holds a PEG ratio of 1.61. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. ABC's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.99. Over the last 12 months, ABC's PEG has been as high as 1.66 and as low as 1.26, with a median of 1.45.

Finally, investors should note that ABC has a P/CF ratio of 17.47. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. ABC's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 37.65. ABC's P/CF has been as high as 17.73 and as low as 9.16, with a median of 11.93, all within the past year.

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

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