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Is Selective Insurance a Great Stock for Value Investors?

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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 Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (SIGI - Free Report) 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, Selective Insurance has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 15.73, 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 compares in at about 19.77. If we focus on the stock’s long-term PE trend, the current level puts Selective Insurance’s current PE ratio above its midpoint over the past five years.

Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks classified Finance sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 16.48. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out that Selective Insurance has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 14.18, so it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for Selective Insurance 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, Selective Insurance has a P/S ratio of about 1.10. This is substantially lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.24 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is slightly below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

If anything, Selective Insurance is towards the higher end of its range in the time period from a P/S metric, which suggests that the company’s stock price has already appreciated to some degree, relative to its sales.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Selective Insurance currently has a Zacks Value Style Score of ‘A’, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Selective Insurance a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.

For example, its P/CF ratio (another great indicator of value) comes in at 6.10, which is slightly better than the industry average of 7.41. Clearly, Selective Insurance is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Selective Insurance 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 ‘C’ and a Momentum score of ‘B’. This gives Selective Insurance a Zacks VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of ‘B’. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. The full year estimate has seen one upward and no downward revisions in the past sixty days.

This has had a favorable impact on the consensus estimate, as the full year estimate has risen by about 11% in the past two months. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

This bullish trend is why the stock boasts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and why we are expecting outperformance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Selective Insurance is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Boasting a good industry rank (Top 27% out of more than 250 industries) and a top Zacks Rank, the company deserves attention right now. In fact, over the past two years, the Zacks Property/Casualty/Title sector has clearly outperformed the broader market, as you can see below:

So, it might pay for value investors to delve deeper into the company’s prospects, as fundamentals indicate that this stock could be a compelling pick.

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