Back to top

Image: Bigstock

AFG vs. PGR: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in stocks from the Insurance - Property and Casualty sector have probably already heard of American Financial Group (AFG - Free Report) and Progressive (PGR - 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 is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Currently, both American Financial Group and Progressive are holding a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

AFG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.87, while PGR has a forward P/E of 14.61. We also note that AFG has a PEG ratio of 1.94. 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. PGR currently has a PEG ratio of 1.99.

Another notable valuation metric for AFG is its P/B ratio of 1.84. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, PGR has a P/B of 3.80.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AFG's Value grade of A and PGR's Value grade of C.

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


The Progressive Corporation (PGR) - free report >>

American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG) - free report >>

Published in