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PNW or OGE: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Utility - Electric Power stocks are likely familiar with Pinnacle West (PNW - Free Report) and OGE Energy (OGE - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

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.

Right now, Pinnacle West is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while OGE Energy has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that PNW is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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 highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

PNW currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.89, while OGE has a forward P/E of 19.15. We also note that PNW has a PEG ratio of 2.30. 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. OGE currently has a PEG ratio of 3.65.

Another notable valuation metric for PNW is its P/B ratio of 1.62. 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, OGE has a P/B of 1.84.

These metrics, and several others, help PNW earn a Value grade of B, while OGE has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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