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AFG or WRB: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Insurance - Property and Casualty sector might want to consider either American Financial Group (AFG - Free Report) or W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Both American Financial Group and W.R. Berkley have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks 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.

AFG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.48, while WRB has a forward P/E of 25.40. We also note that AFG has a PEG ratio of 1.93. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. WRB currently has a PEG ratio of 2.82.

Another notable valuation metric for AFG is its P/B ratio of 1.60. 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. By comparison, WRB has a P/B of 2.29.

Based on these metrics and many more, AFG holds a Value grade of A, while WRB has a Value grade of D.

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


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W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB) - free report >>

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