Should Value Investors Buy Prudential Financial (PRU) 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.Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.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 stock to keep an eye on is Prudential Financial (PRU). PRU is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.12 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 8.87. 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 8.39.We should also highlight that PRU has a P/B ratio of 1.32. 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. PRU's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.31. Over the past year, PRU's P/B has been as high as 1.55 and as low as 1.26, with a median of 1.40.Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. PRU has a P/S ratio of 0.62. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.Finally, our model also underscores that PRU has a P/CF ratio of 9.41. 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. PRU's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.23. PRU's P/CF has been as high as 18.19 and as low as 9.06, with a median of 14.17, all within the past year.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.Only $1 to See All Zacks' Buys and SellsWe're not kidding.Several years ago, we shocked our members by offering them 30-day access to all our picks for the total sum of only $1. No obligation to spend another cent.Thousands have taken advantage of this opportunity. Thousands did not - they thought there must be a catch. Yes, we do have a reason. We want you to get acquainted with our portfolio services like Surprise Trader, Stocks Under $10, Technology Innovators,and more, that closed 228 positions with double- and triple-digit gains in 2023 alone.See Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks