KEP Vs. PEGI: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Investors interested in stocks from the Utility - Electric Power sector have probably already heard of Korea Electric Power (KEP) and Pattern Energy (PEGI). 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.

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

Korea Electric Power and Pattern Energy are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that KEP likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than PEGI 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.

KEP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 25.11, while PEGI has a forward P/E of 26.01. We also note that KEP has a PEG ratio of 5.02. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. PEGI currently has a PEG ratio of 13.01.

Another notable valuation metric for KEP is its P/B ratio of 0.20. 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, PEGI has a P/B of 1.45.

These metrics, and several others, help KEP earn a Value grade of A, while PEGI has been given a Value grade of F.

KEP 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 KEP is likely the superior value option right now.