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09 May
ALL vs. PGR: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors interested in Insurance - Property and Casualty stocks are likely familiar with Allstate (ALL) and Progressive (PGR). 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.

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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Both Allstate and Progressive have a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) right now. 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. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

ALL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.49, while PGR has a forward P/E of 19.13. We also note that ALL has a PEG ratio of 0.39. 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 0.85.

Another notable valuation metric for ALL is its P/B ratio of 2.73. 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, PGR has a P/B of 5.80.

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

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

Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

It’s an American AI company that’s riding low right now, but it has rounded up clients like BMW, GE, Dell Computer, and Bosch. It has prospects for not just doubling but quadrupling in the year to come. Of course, all our picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.