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PAM vs. DTE: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Utility - Electric Power stocks are likely familiar with Pampa Energia (PAM - Free Report) and DTE Energy (DTE - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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.

Right now, Pampa Energia is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while DTE Energy has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that PAM's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

PAM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.48, while DTE has a forward P/E of 21.60. We also note that PAM has a PEG ratio of 0.10. 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. DTE currently has a PEG ratio of 3.60.

Another notable valuation metric for PAM is its P/B ratio of 0.64. 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, DTE has a P/B of 2.81.

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

PAM stands above DTE thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that PAM is the superior value option right now.


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