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FAF vs. WRB: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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

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, both First American Financial and W.R. Berkley are holding a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). 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 piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

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.

FAF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.73, while WRB has a forward P/E of 22.40. We also note that FAF has a PEG ratio of 0.90. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. WRB currently has a PEG ratio of 2.49.

Another notable valuation metric for FAF is its P/B ratio of 1.67. 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, WRB has a P/B of 2.05.

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

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


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W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB) - free report >>

First American Financial Corporation (FAF) - free report >>

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