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UGP or PBA: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines stocks have likely encountered both Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (UGP - Free Report) and Pembina Pipeline (PBA - 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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. and Pembina Pipeline are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that UGP'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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

UGP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.26, while PBA has a forward P/E of 15.72. We also note that UGP has a PEG ratio of 0.41. 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. PBA currently has a PEG ratio of 5.24.

Another notable valuation metric for UGP is its P/B ratio of 1.54. 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, PBA has a P/B of 1.81.

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

UGP 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 UGP is likely the superior value option right now.


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Pembina Pipeline Corp. (PBA) - free report >>

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