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UGI vs. OGS: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Utility - Gas Distribution sector might want to consider either UGI (UGI - Free Report) or ONE Gas (OGS - 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.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

UGI and ONE Gas are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that UGI's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst 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.

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.

UGI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.54, while OGS has a forward P/E of 19.86. We also note that UGI has a PEG ratio of 1.69. 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. OGS currently has a PEG ratio of 3.97.

Another notable valuation metric for UGI is its P/B ratio of 1.38. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, OGS has a P/B of 1.79.

These metrics, and several others, help UGI earn a Value grade of A, while OGS has been given a Value grade of D.

UGI 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 UGI is likely the superior value option right now.


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