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

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Investors interested in Insurance - Property and Casualty stocks are likely familiar with Progressive (PGR - Free Report) and Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. (KNSL - 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.

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.

Progressive and Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that PGR has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

PGR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.40, while KNSL has a forward P/E of 25.57. We also note that PGR has a PEG ratio of 1.48. 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. KNSL currently has a PEG ratio of 1.72.

Another notable valuation metric for PGR is its P/B ratio of 4.54. 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, KNSL has a P/B of 6.33.

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

PGR 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 PGR is likely the superior value option right now.


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The Progressive Corporation (PGR) - free report >>

Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. (KNSL) - free report >>

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