Should Value Investors Buy AllianceBernstein (AB) Stock?

While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 AllianceBernstein (AB). AB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 10.89 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 15.37. Over the past 52 weeks, AB's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.79 and as low as 9.17, with a median of 10.71.

Another notable valuation metric for AB is its P/B ratio of 2.18. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. AB's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.76. AB's P/B has been as high as 2.39 and as low as 1.83, with a median of 2.09, over the past year.

Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) may be another strong Financial - Investment Management stock to add to your shortlist. AMG is a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Shares of Affiliated Managers Group currently hold a Forward P/E ratio of 9.11, and its PEG ratio is 0.58. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 15.37 and 1.00.

AMG's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 9.17 and as low as 6.14, with a median of 7.88, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.71 and as low as 0.50, with a median of 0.59, all within the past year.

Affiliated Managers Group sports a P/B ratio of 1.67 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.76. In the past 52 weeks, AMG's P/B has been as high as 1.68, as low as 1.01, with a median of 1.30.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in AllianceBernstein and Affiliated Managers Group'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 AB and AMG is an impressive value stock right now.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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