Back to top

Image: Bigstock

KMI vs. WMB: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in stocks from the Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines sector have probably already heard of Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) and Williams Companies, Inc. The (WMB - 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 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.

Kinder Morgan has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Williams Companies, Inc. The has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that KMI likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than WMB has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

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.

KMI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.14, while WMB has a forward P/E of 24.08. We also note that KMI has a PEG ratio of 4.38. 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. WMB currently has a PEG ratio of 6.88.

Another notable valuation metric for KMI is its P/B ratio of 1.29. 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, WMB has a P/B of 2.45.

Based on these metrics and many more, KMI holds a Value grade of B, while WMB has a Value grade of C.

KMI 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 KMI is likely the superior value option right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (WMB) - free report >>

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) - free report >>

Published in