FE vs. NEE: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

NEE FE

Investors looking for stocks in the Utility - Electric Power sector might want to consider either FirstEnergy (FE - Free Report) or NextEra Energy (NEE - Free Report) . 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, FirstEnergy has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while NextEra Energy 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 FE has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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 highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

FE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.75, while NEE has a forward P/E of 24.38. We also note that FE has a PEG ratio of 2.44. 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. NEE currently has a PEG ratio of 2.70.

Another notable valuation metric for FE is its P/B ratio of 2.11. 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, NEE has a P/B of 3.13.

These metrics, and several others, help FE earn a Value grade of B, while NEE has been given a Value grade of D.

FE has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than NEE, so it seems like value investors will conclude that FE is the superior option right now.

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