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AXS or BRK.B: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Insurance - Property and Casualty stocks are likely familiar with Axis Capital (AXS - Free Report) and Berkshire Hathaway B (BRK.B - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Axis Capital has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Berkshire Hathaway B 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 AXS has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

AXS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.13, while BRK.B has a forward P/E of 20.97. We also note that AXS has a PEG ratio of 1.23. 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.

Another notable valuation metric for AXS is its P/B ratio of 1.12. 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 1.55.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AXS's Value grade of A and BRK.B's Value grade of D.

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


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

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