AXAHY vs. ZURVY: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?
Investors interested in stocks from the Insurance - Multi line sector have probably already heard of Axa Sa (AXAHY) and Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. (ZURVY). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.
The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Axa Sa has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that AXAHY is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.
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 grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.
AXAHY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.97, while ZURVY has a forward P/E of 13.78. We also note that AXAHY has a PEG ratio of 1.67. 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. ZURVY currently has a PEG ratio of 12.30.
Another notable valuation metric for AXAHY is its P/B ratio of 1.50. 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, ZURVY has a P/B of 3.12.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AXAHY's Value grade of A and ZURVY's Value grade of D.
AXAHY has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than ZURVY, so it seems like value investors will conclude that AXAHY is the superior option right now.
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Axa Sa (AXAHY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. (ZURVY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
