Back to top

Image: Bigstock

TRV vs. SIGI: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Travelers has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Selective Insurance has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that TRV is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

TRV currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.93, while SIGI has a forward P/E of 17.53. We also note that TRV has a PEG ratio of 2.53. 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. SIGI currently has a PEG ratio of 2.65.

Another notable valuation metric for TRV is its P/B ratio of 2.16. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, SIGI has a P/B of 2.38.

Based on these metrics and many more, TRV holds a Value grade of A, while SIGI has a Value grade of C.

TRV sticks out from SIGI in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that TRV is the better option right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV) - free report >>

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

Published in