Investors interested in stocks from the Utility - Electric Power sector have probably already heard of Pampa Energia (PAM) and Pinnacle West (PNW). 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.
Right now, Pampa Energia is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Pinnacle West 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 PAM has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.
Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.
PAM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.02, while PNW has a forward P/E of 22.01. We also note that PAM has a PEG ratio of 3.09. 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. PNW currently has a PEG ratio of 3.79.
Another notable valuation metric for PAM is its P/B ratio of 1.2. 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, PNW has a P/B of 1.75.
These metrics, and several others, help PAM earn a Value grade of B, while PNW has been given a Value grade of C.
PAM has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than PNW, so it seems like value investors will conclude that PAM is the superior option right now.
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Pampa Energia S.A. (PAM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (PNW): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).