Are Investors Undervaluing American Equity Investment (AEL) Right Now?

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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

American Equity Investment (AEL) is a stock many investors are watching right now. AEL is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 7.03, which compares to its industry's average of 9.42. Over the past 52 weeks, AEL's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.64 and as low as 5.14, with a median of 6.95.

Investors should also recognize that AEL has a P/B ratio of 0.64. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with 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 1.79. AEL's P/B has been as high as 1.24 and as low as 0.48, with a median of 0.67, over the past year.

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

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