Are Investors Undervaluing Morgan Stanley (MS) Right Now?

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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is Morgan Stanley (MS). MS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

Investors should also recognize that MS has a P/B ratio of 0.98. 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. MS's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2. MS's P/B has been as high as 1.32 and as low as 0.90, with a median of 1.08, over the past year.

Finally, investors should note that MS has a P/CF ratio of 6.76. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 18.52. MS's P/CF has been as high as 10.79 and as low as 6.38, with a median of 7.71, all within the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Morgan Stanley'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, MS looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.

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