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Is JMP (JMP) a Great Value Stock 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, 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 JMP . JMP is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 6.37 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 12.26. Over the past 52 weeks, JMP's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.34 and as low as -166.81, with a median of 10.70.

Investors will also notice that JMP has a PEG ratio of 0.64. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. JMP's industry has an average PEG of 1.44 right now. Over the past 52 weeks, JMP's PEG has been as high as 1.33 and as low as -16.68, with a median of 1.07.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. JMP has a P/S ratio of 0.44. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.01.

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

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