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Should Value Investors Buy PG&E (PCG) Stock?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One stock to keep an eye on is PG&E (PCG - Free Report) . PCG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 6.13 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 13.19. Over the last 12 months, PCG's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.02 and as low as 4.43, with a median of 11.27.

Investors should also note that PCG holds a PEG ratio of 1.75. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. PCG's industry currently sports an average PEG of 2.19. Over the last 12 months, PCG's PEG has been as high as 3.54 and as low as 1.26, with a median of 2.71.

Investors should also recognize that PCG has a P/B ratio of 0.64. 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. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.70. PCG's P/B has been as high as 1.41 and as low as 0.47, with a median of 1.16, over the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. PCG has a P/S ratio of 0.71. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.84.

Finally, we should also recognize that PCG has a P/CF ratio of 4.04. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 6.70. Over the past year, PCG's P/CF has been as high as 8.09 and as low as 2.93, with a median of 5.12.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in PG&E's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that PCG is an impressive value stock right now.


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