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AXS vs. ALL: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Insurance - Property and Casualty sector have probably already heard of Axis Capital (AXS - Free Report) and Allstate (ALL - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Axis Capital has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Allstate has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that AXS's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.

AXS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.89, while ALL has a forward P/E of 32.67. We also note that AXS has a PEG ratio of 1.38. 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. ALL currently has a PEG ratio of 4.67.

Another notable valuation metric for AXS is its P/B ratio of 1.03. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ALL has a P/B of 1.88.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AXS's Value grade of A and ALL's Value grade of C.

AXS has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than ALL, so it seems like value investors will conclude that AXS is the superior option right now.


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