PFG or PUK: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

PFG or PUK: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now? Read MoreHide Full Article Investors looking for stocks in the Insurance - Multi line sector might want to consider either Principal Financial (PFG Quick Quote) or Prudential (PUK Quick Quote). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.\n\nThere 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 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.\n\nRight now, Principal Financial is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Prudential 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 PFG is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.\n\nValue 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.\n\nOur 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.\n\nPFG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.75, while PUK has a forward P/E of 13.10. We also note that PFG has a PEG ratio of 0.69. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. PUK currently has a PEG ratio of 0.79.\n\nAnother notable valuation metric for PFG is its P/B ratio of 1.75. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, PUK has a P/B of 2.15.\n\nBased on these metrics and many more, PFG holds a Value grade of A, while PUK has a Value grade of C.\n\nPFG sticks out from PUK in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that PFG is the better option right now.\n\nSee More Zacks Research for These Tickers\n=========================================\n\nNormally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:\n\nPrudential Public Limited Company (PUK) - free report >>\n\nPrincipal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG) - free report >>\n\nPublished in value-stocks, which-stock-is-cheaper\n\nDue to inactivity, you will be signed out in approximately:\n