Are Investors Undervaluing PG&E (PCG) Right Now?

Zacks
25 Feb

While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company value investors might notice is PG&E (PCG). PCG is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.57, which compares to its industry's average of 14.49. Over the last 12 months, PCG's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.79 and as low as 10.07, with a median of 12.89.

PCG is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.10. 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. PCG's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.83. Over the last 12 months, PCG's PEG has been as high as 4.96 and as low as 1.05, with a median of 1.44.

Investors should also recognize that PCG has a P/B ratio of 1.45. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.47. Within the past 52 weeks, PCG's P/B has been as high as 2.10 and as low as 1.38, with a median of 1.89.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. PCG has a P/S ratio of 1.75. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.2.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that PCG has a P/CF ratio of 5.15. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 11.82. Within the past 12 months, PCG's P/CF has been as high as 7.04 and as low as 4.88, with a median of 6.24.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in PG&E's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that PCG is an impressive value stock right now.

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

Zacks Investment Research

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

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