Yahoo Finance UTL vs. WEC: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
Investors interested in Utility - Electric Power stocks are likely familiar with Unitil (UTL) and WEC Energy Group (WEC). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.
We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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.
Unitil has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while WEC Energy Group has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that UTL likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than WEC has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.
Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.
UTL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.91, while WEC has a forward P/E of 19.93. We also note that UTL has a PEG ratio of 2.81. 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. WEC currently has a PEG ratio of 3.42.
Another notable valuation metric for UTL is its P/B ratio of 1.90. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, WEC has a P/B of 2.49.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to UTL's Value grade of B and WEC's Value grade of D.
UTL 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 UTL is likely the superior value option right now.
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Unitil Corporation (UTL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
WEC Energy Group, Inc. (WEC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
