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PCG vs. OGE: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Utility - Electric Power stocks have likely encountered both PG&E (PCG - Free Report) and OGE Energy (OGE - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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.

PG&E and OGE Energy are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that PCG likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than OGE has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.

PCG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.09, while OGE has a forward P/E of 20.15. We also note that PCG has a PEG ratio of 0.63. 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. OGE currently has a PEG ratio of 3.62.

Another notable valuation metric for PCG is its P/B ratio of 1.4. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, OGE has a P/B of 2.04.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PCG's Value grade of A and OGE's Value grade of C.

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

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