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SIGI 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 Selective Insurance (SIGI - Free Report) or W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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.

Right now, both Selective Insurance and W.R. Berkley are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy). 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 just one piece of the puzzle 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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

SIGI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.07, while WRB has a forward P/E of 19.59. We also note that SIGI has a PEG ratio of 1.48. 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. WRB currently has a PEG ratio of 2.18.

Another notable valuation metric for SIGI is its P/B ratio of 1.78. 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, WRB has a P/B of 2.15.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to SIGI's Value grade of B and WRB's Value grade of C.

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


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

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (SIGI) - free report >>

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