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POR or ELP: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Utility - Electric Power sector have probably already heard of Portland General Electric (POR - Free Report) and Paranaense de Energia (ELP - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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.

Portland General Electric and Paranaense de Energia are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that POR 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 Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

POR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.70, while ELP has a forward P/E of 67.69. We also note that POR has a PEG ratio of 3.69. 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. ELP currently has a PEG ratio of 7.13.

Another notable valuation metric for POR is its P/B ratio of 1.16. 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, ELP has a P/B of 1.17.

Based on these metrics and many more, POR holds a Value grade of B, while ELP has a Value grade of C.

POR has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than ELP, so it seems like value investors will conclude that POR is the superior option right now.

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