What are Value Stocks?

A value stock traditionally has a lower price when compared to stock prices of companies in the same industry. This indicates that the company may be undervalued, as investors are not expressing as much interest in such companies. The most commonly used way to check for value is with the price-to-earnings multiple, or P/E. A low P/E multiple is a good indication that the stock is undervalued.

The following stocks are considered to be notable value stocks in the utilities sector:

1. TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) - P/E: 3.97
2. Hawaiian Electric Indus (NYSE:HE) - P/E: 6.42
3. Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) - P/E: 9.64
4. Entergy (NYSE:ETR) - P/E: 9.19
5. Cia Energetica DE Minas (NYSE:CIG) - P/E: 4.93

TransAlta's earnings per share for Q4 sits at $-0.2, whereas in Q3, they were at 1.05. Its most recent dividend yield is at 2.08%, which has decreased by 0.08% from 2.16% in the previous quarter.

Hawaiian Electric Indus saw a decrease in earnings per share from 0.56 in Q3 to $0.48 now. Its most recent dividend yield is at 3.75%, which has increased by 0.01% from 3.74% in the previous quarter.

Most recently, Genie Energy reported earnings per share at $0.53, whereas in Q2 earnings per share sat at $0.45. The company's most recent dividend yield sits at 1.61%, which has increased by 0.13% from 1.48% last quarter.

Entergy has reported Q4 earnings per share at $0.52, which has decreased by 84.1% compared to Q3, which was 3.27. Its most recent dividend yield is at 4.56%, which has decreased by 0.29% from 4.85% in the previous quarter.

This quarter, Cia Energetica DE Minas experienced a decrease in earnings per share, which was $0.12 in Q2 and is now $0.03.

The Significance: A value stock may need some time to rebound from its undervalued position. The risk of investing in a value stock is that this emergence may never materialize.