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OGE or CNP: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Utility - Electric Power stocks are likely familiar with OGE Energy (OGE - Free Report) and CenterPoint Energy (CNP - 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.

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.

OGE Energy and CenterPoint Energy are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (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 OGE is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

OGE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.96, while CNP has a forward P/E of 23.04. We also note that OGE has a PEG ratio of 4.31. 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. CNP currently has a PEG ratio of 6.03.

Another notable valuation metric for OGE is its P/B ratio of 2.03. 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, CNP has a P/B of 2.32.

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

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


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