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UGI vs. OGS: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Utility - Gas Distribution sector might want to consider either UGI (UGI - Free Report) or ONE Gas (OGS - 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.

UGI has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while ONE Gas has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) right now. This means that UGI's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. 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.

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.

UGI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.40, while OGS has a forward P/E of 15.17. We also note that UGI has a PEG ratio of 1.05. 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. OGS currently has a PEG ratio of 3.03.

Another notable valuation metric for UGI is its P/B ratio of 1.17. 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, OGS has a P/B of 1.23.

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

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


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