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CINF or PGR: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Insurance - Property and Casualty stocks have likely encountered both Cincinnati Financial (CINF - Free Report) and Progressive (PGR - 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.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Cincinnati Financial has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Progressive has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that CINF has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

CINF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.42, while PGR has a forward P/E of 30.64. We also note that CINF has a PEG ratio of 1.21. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. PGR currently has a PEG ratio of 1.23.

Another notable valuation metric for CINF is its P/B ratio of 1.52. 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, PGR has a P/B of 5.17.

These metrics, and several others, help CINF earn a Value grade of B, while PGR has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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Cincinnati Financial Corporation (CINF) - free report >>

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