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AXAHY vs. ZURVY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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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.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Axa Sa and Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. 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 9.59, while ZURVY has a forward P/E of 14.37. We also note that AXAHY has a PEG ratio of 1.19. 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 4.16.

Another notable valuation metric for AXAHY is its P/B ratio of 1.60. 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, ZURVY has a P/B of 3.29.

Based on these metrics and many more, AXAHY holds a Value grade of B, while ZURVY has a Value grade of C.

Both AXAHY and ZURVY are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that AXAHY is the superior value option right now.


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