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ALL vs. BRK.B: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Investors interested in stocks from the Insurance - Property and Casualty sector have probably already heard of Allstate (ALL) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B). 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Allstate has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that ALL has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.

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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 8.13, while BRK.B has a forward P/E of 22.08. We also note that ALL has a PEG ratio of 1.08. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. BRK.B currently has a PEG ratio of 3.15.

Another notable valuation metric for ALL is its P/B ratio of 1.20. 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, BRK.B has a P/B of 1.30.

These metrics, and several others, help ALL earn a Value grade of A, while BRK.B has been given a Value grade of C.

ALL stands above BRK.B thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that ALL is the superior value option right now.


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