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Is Principal Financial (PFG) Stock Undervalued 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, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Principal Financial (PFG - Free Report) . PFG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 7.52, which compares to its industry's average of 12.79. Over the last 12 months, PFG's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.17 and as low as 4.10, with a median of 8.89.

Investors should also note that PFG holds a PEG ratio of 1.61. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. PFG's industry has an average PEG of 1.71 right now. Over the past 52 weeks, PFG's PEG has been as high as 3.49 and as low as 0.49, with a median of 1.53.

Investors should also recognize that PFG has a P/B ratio of 0.87. 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 solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.96. Over the past 12 months, PFG's P/B has been as high as 1.20 and as low as 0.46, with a median of 1.02.

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. PFG has a P/S ratio of 0.67. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.79.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Principal Financial'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, PFG looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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