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MFC or BRP: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Insurance - Life Insurance sector might want to consider either Manulife Financial (MFC - Free Report) or BRP Group (BRP - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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.

Manulife Financial has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while BRP Group has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that MFC is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

MFC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.08, while BRP has a forward P/E of 25.50. We also note that MFC has a PEG ratio of 0.81. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. BRP currently has a PEG ratio of 1.06.

Another notable valuation metric for MFC is its P/B ratio of 0.95. 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, BRP has a P/B of 2.89.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to MFC's Value grade of A and BRP's Value grade of D.

MFC stands above BRP thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that MFC is the superior value option right now.


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