CI vs. BBSEY: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

CI BBSEY

Investors with an interest in Insurance - Multi line stocks have likely encountered both Cigna (CI - Free Report) and BB Seguridade Participacoes SA (BBSEY - 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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Cigna has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while BB Seguridade Participacoes SA has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that CI's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.

CI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.88, while BBSEY has a forward P/E of 48.36. We also note that CI has a PEG ratio of 1.07. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. BBSEY currently has a PEG ratio of 3.03.

Another notable valuation metric for CI is its P/B ratio of 1.85. 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, BBSEY has a P/B of 8.11.

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

CI has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than BBSEY, so it seems like value investors will conclude that CI is the superior option right now.

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