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NMIH or KNSL: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Insurance - Property and Casualty sector might want to consider either NMI Holdings (NMIH - Free Report) or Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. (KNSL - Free Report) . 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 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.

NMI Holdings has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that NMIH's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

NMIH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.10, while KNSL has a forward P/E of 29.33. We also note that NMIH has a PEG ratio of 0.93. 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. KNSL currently has a PEG ratio of 1.96.

Another notable valuation metric for NMIH is its P/B ratio of 1.59. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, KNSL has a P/B of 8.32.

These metrics, and several others, help NMIH earn a Value grade of B, while KNSL has been given a Value grade of D.

NMIH sticks out from KNSL in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that NMIH is the better option right now.


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