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AVA or WEC: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
Investors looking for stocks in the Utility - Electric Power sector might want to consider either Avista (AVA - Free Report) or WEC Energy Group (WEC - 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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.
Currently, Avista has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while WEC Energy Group has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that AVA's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.
AVA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.56, while WEC has a forward P/E of 19.09. We also note that AVA has a PEG ratio of 2.61. 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. WEC currently has a PEG ratio of 3.32.
Another notable valuation metric for AVA is its P/B ratio of 1.15. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, WEC has a P/B of 2.32.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AVA's Value grade of B and WEC's Value grade of C.
AVA 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 AVA is likely the superior value option right now.