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Are Investors Undervaluing Prudential Financial (PRU) Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

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 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 Prudential Financial (PRU - Free Report) . PRU is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 7.97, which compares to its industry's average of 8.79. Over the last 12 months, PRU's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.10 and as low as 7.52, with a median of 8.37.

We should also highlight that PRU has a P/B ratio of 1.31. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to 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 2.29. PRU's P/B has been as high as 1.55 and as low as 1.26, with a median of 1.40, over the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. PRU has a P/S ratio of 0.63. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.97.

Finally, investors should note that PRU has a P/CF ratio of 9.30. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.17. Within the past 12 months, PRU's P/CF has been as high as 16.65 and as low as 9.05, with a median of 13.59.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Prudential Financial is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, PRU sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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