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AXAHY or PUK: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Insurance - Multi line sector might want to consider either Axa Sa (AXAHY - Free Report) or Prudential (PUK - 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Axa Sa has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Prudential has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that AXAHY is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture 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.

AXAHY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.72, while PUK has a forward P/E of 10.94. We also note that AXAHY has a PEG ratio of 1.01. 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. PUK currently has a PEG ratio of 1.22.

Another notable valuation metric for AXAHY is its P/B ratio of 1.19. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, PUK has a P/B of 2.03.

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

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


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