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OGS or ATO: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Utility - Gas Distribution sector have probably already heard of ONE Gas (OGS - Free Report) and Atmos Energy (ATO - 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.

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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, ONE Gas is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Atmos 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 OGS 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 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.

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.

OGS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.60, while ATO has a forward P/E of 18.63. We also note that OGS has a PEG ratio of 1.97. 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. ATO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.73.

Another notable valuation metric for OGS is its P/B ratio of 1.28. 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, ATO has a P/B of 1.72.

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

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

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