Advertisement
U.S. markets open in 6 hours 58 minutes
  • S&P Futures

    5,208.50
    -6.25 (-0.12%)
     
  • Dow Futures

    39,211.00
    -12.00 (-0.03%)
     
  • Nasdaq Futures

    18,187.00
    -44.50 (-0.24%)
     
  • Russell 2000 Futures

    2,048.40
    -1.40 (-0.07%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    82.54
    -0.18 (-0.22%)
     
  • Gold

    2,159.00
    -5.30 (-0.24%)
     
  • Silver

    25.12
    -0.14 (-0.57%)
     
  • EUR/USD

    1.0871
    -0.0006 (-0.05%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.3400
    0.0000 (0.00%)
     
  • Vix

    14.33
    -0.08 (-0.56%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2712
    -0.0017 (-0.13%)
     
  • USD/JPY

    150.3300
    +1.2320 (+0.83%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    65,005.11
    -3,422.06 (-5.00%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,722.55
    -4.87 (-0.06%)
     
  • Nikkei 225

    40,003.60
    +263.20 (+0.66%)
     

Is Amgen Inc. (AMGN) a Great Stock for Value Investors?

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Amgen Inc. AMGN stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, Amgen has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 15.1, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 21.5x. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Amgen’s current PE level puts it above its midpoint over the past five years, with the number having increased rapidly over the past few months.

Further, the stock’s PE also compares unfavorably with the broader industry’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 34.9. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out that Amgen has a forward PE  ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 14.3, so it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for Amgen stock in the near term too.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, Amgen has a P/S ratio of about 6. This is higher than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.5x right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is well above the lows for this stock in particular over the past few years.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Amgen currently has a Zacks Value Style Score of ‘B’, putting it into the top 40%  of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Amgen a solid choice for value investors.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Amgen might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of ‘B’ and a Momentum score of ‘A’. This gives AMGN a Zacks VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of ‘A’. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been upbeat. The current quarter has seen two estimates go higher in the past sixty days compared to four lower, while the full year estimate has seen nine up and three down in the same time period.

This has had just a small impact on the consensus estimate though as the current quarter consensus estimate has risen by 1.9% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has increased 3.9%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

Amgen Inc. Price and Consensus

Amgen Inc. Price and Consensus | Amgen Inc. Quote

The stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Amgen is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a sluggish industry rank (among Bottom 27% of more than 250 industries) and a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about this company overall. In fact, over the past two years, the broader industry has clearly underperformed the market at large, as you can see below:

So, value investors might want to wait for estimates and analyst sentiment to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.

Breaking News: Cryptocurrencies Now Bigger than Visa

The total market cap of all cryptos recently surpassed $700 billion – more than a 3,800% increase in the previous 12 months. They’re now bigger than Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and even Visa! The new asset class may expand even more rapidly in 2018 as new investors continue pouring in and Wall Street becomes increasingly involved.

Zacks’ has just named 4 companies that enable investors to take advantage of the explosive growth of cryptocurrencies via the stock market.

Click here to access these stocks. >>


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
 
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research

Advertisement