Are These Utilities Stocks Undervalued Right Now?

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, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP). BIP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value.

We should also highlight that BIP has a P/B ratio of 0.71. 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. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2.09. Within the past 52 weeks, BIP's P/B has been as high as 0.85 and as low as 0.68, with a median of 0.77.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. BIP has a P/S ratio of 1.59. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.25.

Finally, we should also recognize that BIP has a P/CF ratio of 5.68. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. BIP's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 10.84. BIP's P/CF has been as high as 8.59 and as low as 5.43, with a median of 6.23, all within the past year.

Another great Utility - Electric Power stock you could consider is China Resources Power Holdings (CRPJY), which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

China Resources Power Holdings sports a P/B ratio of 0.94 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.09. In the past 52 weeks, CRPJY's P/B has been as high as 1.13, as low as 0.36, with a median of 0.49.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and China Resources Power Holdings'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 BIP and CRPJY is an impressive value stock right now.

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Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (BIP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
China Resources Power Holdings Co. (CRPJY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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