Here are three stocks with buy rank and strong value characteristics for investors to consider today, August 19th:  Axis Capital Holdings (AXS) : This company which provides a broad range of specialty insurance and reinsurance solutions to its clients on a worldwide basis, carries a Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy), and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 5.5% over the last 60 days.Axis Capital Holdings' has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 7.03 compared with 15.20 ...