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ATO vs. VVC: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Utility - Gas Distribution stocks are likely familiar with Atmos Energy (ATO - Free Report) and Vectren . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Atmos Energy has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Vectren has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that ATO's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

ATO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 22.80, while VVC has a forward P/E of 24.88. We also note that ATO has a PEG ratio of 3.26. 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. VVC currently has a PEG ratio of 3.55.

Another notable valuation metric for ATO is its P/B ratio of 2.14. 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, VVC has a P/B of 3.16.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ATO's Value grade of B and VVC's Value grade of C.

ATO sticks out from VVC in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that ATO is the better option right now.


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