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CNP vs. WEC: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Utility - Electric Power stocks are likely familiar with CenterPoint Energy (CNP - Free Report) and WEC Energy Group (WEC - 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

CenterPoint Energy has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while WEC Energy Group has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that CNP 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 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 Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

CNP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.28, while WEC has a forward P/E of 22.49. We also note that CNP has a PEG ratio of 3.06. 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. WEC currently has a PEG ratio of 3.71.

Another notable valuation metric for CNP is its P/B ratio of 1.98. 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, WEC has a P/B of 2.70.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to CNP's Value grade of B and WEC's Value grade of C.

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


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WEC Energy Group, Inc. (WEC) - free report >>

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