Investors interested in Utility - Electric Power stocks are likely familiar with Exelon (EXC) and DTE Energy (DTE). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Right now, Exelon is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while DTE Energy has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that EXC has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

EXC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.81, while DTE has a forward P/E of 18.06. We also note that EXC has a PEG ratio of 2.74. 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. DTE currently has a PEG ratio of 3.04.

Another notable valuation metric for EXC is its P/B ratio of 1.57. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, DTE has a P/B of 2.38.

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

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

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Exelon Corporation (EXC): Free Stock Analysis Report

 

DTE Energy Company (DTE): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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