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VEOEY vs. AWK: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Investors interested in Utility - Water Supply stocks are likely familiar with Veolia Environnement SA (VEOEY) and American Water Works (AWK). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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

Veolia Environnement SA and American Water Works are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that VEOEY has an improving earnings outlook. 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.

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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.

VEOEY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.94, while AWK has a forward P/E of 32.88. We also note that VEOEY has a PEG ratio of 1.45. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. AWK currently has a PEG ratio of 4.07.

Another notable valuation metric for VEOEY is its P/B ratio of 1.30. 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, AWK has a P/B of 3.68.

Based on these metrics and many more, VEOEY holds a Value grade of A, while AWK has a Value grade of D.

VEOEY 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 VEOEY is likely the superior value option right now.

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Veolia Environnement SA (VEOEY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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Zacks Investment Research