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MPLX or WMB: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines stocks have likely encountered both MPLX LP (MPLX - Free Report) and Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (WMB - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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.

Currently, both MPLX LP and Williams Companies, Inc. (The) are holding a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.

MPLX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.83, while WMB has a forward P/E of 24.16. We also note that MPLX has a PEG ratio of 1.16. 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. WMB currently has a PEG ratio of 6.40.

Another notable valuation metric for MPLX is its P/B ratio of 3.08. 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, WMB has a P/B of 3.59.

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

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


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