Back to top

Image: Bigstock

ENGIY or NI: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in Utility - Electric Power stocks are likely familiar with ENGIE - Sponsored ADR (ENGIY - Free Report) and NiSource (NI - 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.

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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, ENGIE - Sponsored ADR is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while NiSource 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 ENGIY is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

ENGIY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.12, while NI has a forward P/E of 23.00. We also note that ENGIY has a PEG ratio of 3.63. 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. NI currently has a PEG ratio of 3.77.

Another notable valuation metric for ENGIY is its P/B ratio of 1.69. 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, NI has a P/B of 1.9.

These metrics, and several others, help ENGIY earn a Value grade of B, while NI has been given a Value grade of D.

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

Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)

Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.

Click Here, It's Really Free

Published in