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UGP or WMB: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines sector have probably already heard of Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (UGP - Free Report) and Williams Companies, Inc. The (WMB - 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.

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. and Williams Companies, Inc. The are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that UGP has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

UGP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.50, while WMB has a forward P/E of 20.78. We also note that UGP has a PEG ratio of 0.69. 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. WMB currently has a PEG ratio of 5.94.

Another notable valuation metric for UGP is its P/B ratio of 1.81. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, WMB has a P/B of 2.28.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to UGP's Value grade of A and WMB's Value grade of C.

UGP 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 UGP is likely the superior value option right now.


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Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (WMB) - free report >>

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