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RNR vs. PGR: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Insurance - Property and Casualty sector might want to consider either RenaissanceRe (RNR - Free Report) or Progressive (PGR - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Both RenaissanceRe and Progressive have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

RNR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.31, while PGR has a forward P/E of 14.68. We also note that RNR has a PEG ratio of 1.19. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. PGR currently has a PEG ratio of 2.

Another notable valuation metric for RNR is its P/B ratio of 1.24. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, PGR has a P/B of 3.51.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to RNR's Value grade of A and PGR's Value grade of C.

Both RNR and PGR are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that RNR is the superior value option right now.


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RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (RNR) - free report >>

The Progressive Corporation (PGR) - free report >>

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