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RNR vs. WRB: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Insurance - Property and Casualty stocks have likely encountered both RenaissanceRe (RNR - Free Report) and W.R. Berkley (WRB - 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, RenaissanceRe has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while W.R. Berkley has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that RNR is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

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.

RNR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.19, while WRB has a forward P/E of 15.67. We also note that RNR has a PEG ratio of 0.91. 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. WRB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.98.

Another notable valuation metric for RNR is its P/B ratio of 1.35. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, WRB has a P/B of 2.97.

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

RNR 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 RNR is likely the superior value option right now.

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