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CSIQ vs. RUN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Solar stocks are likely familiar with Canadian Solar (CSIQ - Free Report) and Sunrun (RUN - Free Report) . 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Canadian Solar and Sunrun are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that CSIQ is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

CSIQ currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.73, while RUN has a forward P/E of 15.95. We also note that CSIQ has a PEG ratio of 0.21. 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. RUN currently has a PEG ratio of 0.91.

Another notable valuation metric for CSIQ is its P/B ratio of 0.80. 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, RUN has a P/B of 1.23.

These metrics, and several others, help CSIQ earn a Value grade of A, while RUN has been given a Value grade of C.

CSIQ 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 CSIQ is likely the superior value option right now.


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