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POR or NEE: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Utility - Electric Power stocks are likely familiar with Portland General Electric (POR - Free Report) and NextEra Energy (NEE - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Portland General Electric is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while NextEra Energy has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that POR's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

POR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.63, while NEE has a forward P/E of 33.51. We also note that POR has a PEG ratio of 2.17. 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. NEE currently has a PEG ratio of 4.21.

Another notable valuation metric for POR is its P/B ratio of 1.73. 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, NEE has a P/B of 3.67.

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

POR 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 POR is likely the superior value option right now.


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NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) - free report >>

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