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MFC vs. BRP: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Insurance - Life Insurance stocks have likely encountered both Manulife Financial (MFC - Free Report) and BRP Group . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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.

Currently, Manulife Financial has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while BRP Group has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). 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.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

MFC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.19, while BRP has a forward P/E of 25.81. We also note that MFC has a PEG ratio of 0.82. 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. BRP currently has a PEG ratio of 1.07.

Another notable valuation metric for MFC is its P/B ratio of 0.97. 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, BRP has a P/B of 2.92.

Based on these metrics and many more, MFC holds a Value grade of A, while BRP has a 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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