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CSAN vs. ORA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Alternative Energy - Other sector might want to consider either Cosan (CSAN - Free Report) or Ormat Technologies (ORA - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive 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.

Cosan has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Ormat Technologies 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 CSAN is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

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.

CSAN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.03, while ORA has a forward P/E of 48.79. We also note that CSAN has a PEG ratio of 0.78. 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. ORA currently has a PEG ratio of 4.88.

Another notable valuation metric for CSAN is its P/B ratio of 1.11. 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, ORA has a P/B of 2.61.

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

CSAN has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than ORA, so it seems like value investors will conclude that CSAN is the superior option right now.


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