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POR vs. OGE: 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 Portland General Electric (POR - Free Report) or OGE Energy (OGE - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Portland General Electric has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while OGE Energy has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that POR has an improving earnings 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.

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.

POR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.24, while OGE has a forward P/E of 16.61. We also note that POR has a PEG ratio of 2.70. 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. OGE currently has a PEG ratio of 4.55.

Another notable valuation metric for POR is its P/B ratio of 1.40. 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, OGE has a P/B of 1.53.

Based on these metrics and many more, POR holds a Value grade of B, while OGE has a Value grade of C.

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


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