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American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) - free report >>
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American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) - free report >>
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AEP or MGEE: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
Investors interested in stocks from the Utility - Electric Power sector have probably already heard of American Electric Power (AEP - Free Report) and MGE (MGEE - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.
The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.
Right now, American Electric Power is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while MGE has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that AEP has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.
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.
AEP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.19, while MGEE has a forward P/E of 23.08. We also note that AEP has a PEG ratio of 3.10. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. MGEE currently has a PEG ratio of 5.47.
Another notable valuation metric for AEP is its P/B ratio of 2.02. 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, MGEE has a P/B of 2.39.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AEP's Value grade of B and MGEE's Value grade of D.
AEP 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 AEP is likely the superior value option right now.