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POR vs. IDA: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Utility - Electric Power sector might want to consider either Portland General Electric (POR - Free Report) or IdaCorp (IDA - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Portland General Electric has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while IdaCorp has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that POR likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than IDA has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when 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.

POR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.10, while IDA has a forward P/E of 21.49. We also note that POR has a PEG ratio of 4.35. 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. IDA currently has a PEG ratio of 7.62.

Another notable valuation metric for POR is its P/B ratio of 1.66. 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, IDA has a P/B of 2.02.

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

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


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