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CSAN vs. ORA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Alternative Energy - Other stocks are likely familiar with Cosan (CSAN - Free Report) and Ormat Technologies (ORA - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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, Cosan has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Ormat Technologies 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 CSAN is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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 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.

CSAN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 4.12, while ORA has a forward P/E of 42.21. We also note that CSAN has a PEG ratio of 0.13. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. ORA currently has a PEG ratio of 4.22.

Another notable valuation metric for CSAN is its P/B ratio of 0.34. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, ORA has a P/B of 2.07.

Based on these metrics and many more, CSAN holds a Value grade of A, while ORA has a Value grade of C.

CSAN 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 CSAN is likely the superior value option right now.


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