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Investors with an interest in Utility - Water Supply stocks have likely encountered both Veolia Environnement SA (VEOEY) and American Water Works (AWK). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Veolia Environnement SA is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while American Water Works has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). 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 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 Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

VEOEY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.31, while AWK has a forward P/E of 24.81. We also note that VEOEY has a PEG ratio of 0.66. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. AWK currently has a PEG ratio of 3.10.

Another notable valuation metric for VEOEY is its P/B ratio of 1.46. 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 2.53.

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

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

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