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AXAHY or ZURVY: 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 Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. (ZURVY - 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.

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 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.

Axa Sa and Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. 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 just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks 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 8.65, while ZURVY has a forward P/E of 12.81. We also note that AXAHY has a PEG ratio of 1.54. 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. ZURVY currently has a PEG ratio of 10.17.

Another notable valuation metric for AXAHY is its P/B ratio of 1.41. 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, ZURVY has a P/B of 2.54.

These metrics, and several others, help AXAHY earn a Value grade of A, while ZURVY has been given a Value grade of C.

AXAHY is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that AXAHY is likely the superior value option right now.


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