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EBR vs. AEP: 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 Eletrobras (EBR - Free Report) or American Electric Power (AEP - 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.

Right now, Eletrobras is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while American Electric Power has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that EBR's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

EBR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.24, while AEP has a forward P/E of 16.43. We also note that EBR has a PEG ratio of 0.30. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. AEP currently has a PEG ratio of 2.69.

Another notable valuation metric for EBR is its P/B ratio of 0.45. 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, AEP has a P/B of 1.86.

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

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


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American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) - free report >>

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