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AXS vs. BRK.B: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Insurance - Property and Casualty sector might want to consider either Axis Capital (AXS - Free Report) or Berkshire Hathaway B (BRK.B - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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.

Right now, Axis Capital is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Berkshire Hathaway B has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that AXS likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than BRK.B has recently. 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 6.50, while BRK.B has a forward P/E of 21.09. We also note that AXS has a PEG ratio of 1.30. 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. BRK.B currently has a PEG ratio of 3.01.

Another notable valuation metric for AXS is its P/B ratio of 1.04. 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, BRK.B has a P/B of 1.40.

These metrics, and several others, help AXS earn a Value grade of A, while BRK.B has been given a Value grade of D.

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


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Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) - free report >>

Axis Capital Holdings Limited (AXS) - free report >>

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