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NI vs. NEE: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Utility - Electric Power sector have probably already heard of NiSource (NI - Free Report) and NextEra Energy (NEE - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Both NiSource and NextEra Energy have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

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.

NI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.52, while NEE has a forward P/E of 31.49. We also note that NI has a PEG ratio of 2.99. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. NEE currently has a PEG ratio of 3.39.

Another notable valuation metric for NI is its P/B ratio of 2.11. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, NEE has a P/B of 3.99.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to NI's Value grade of B and NEE's Value grade of D.

Both NI and NEE are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that NI is the superior value option right now.


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