ESNT or BRK.B: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors with an interest in Insurance - Property and Casualty stocks have likely encountered both Essent Group (ESNT) and Berkshire Hathaway B (BRK.B). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Essent Group has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Berkshire Hathaway B 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 ESNT is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

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.

ESNT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.87, while BRK.B has a forward P/E of 24.26. We also note that ESNT has a PEG ratio of 2.73. 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. BRK.B currently has a PEG ratio of 3.47.

Another notable valuation metric for ESNT is its P/B ratio of 1.13. 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, BRK.B has a P/B of 1.59.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ESNT's Value grade of B and BRK.B's Value grade of D.

ESNT is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that ESNT is likely the superior value option right now.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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