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POR or WEC: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Utility - Electric Power sector have probably already heard of Portland General Electric (POR - Free Report) and WEC Energy Group (WEC - 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Portland General Electric has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while WEC Energy Group has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that POR has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks 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.

POR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19, while WEC has a forward P/E of 20.64. We also note that POR has a PEG ratio of 3.12. 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. WEC currently has a PEG ratio of 3.59.

Another notable valuation metric for POR is its P/B ratio of 1.59. 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, WEC has a P/B of 2.51.

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

POR sticks out from WEC in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that POR is the better option right now.


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WEC Energy Group, Inc. (WEC) - free report >>

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