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UTL vs. MGEE: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Utility - Electric Power sector might want to consider either Unitil (UTL - Free Report) or MGE (MGEE - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, both Unitil and MGE are holding a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when 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.

UTL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 20.86, while MGEE has a forward P/E of 25.41. We also note that UTL has a PEG ratio of 3.36. 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. MGEE currently has a PEG ratio of 4.19.

Another notable valuation metric for UTL is its P/B ratio of 1.83. 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, MGEE has a P/B of 2.79.

Based on these metrics and many more, UTL holds a Value grade of B, while MGEE has a Value grade of D.

Both UTL and MGEE are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that UTL is the superior value option right now.


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