Investors interested in stocks from the Utility - Water Supply sector have probably already heard of Consolidated Water (CWCO) and Global Water Resources, Inc. (GWRS). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Consolidated Water has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Global Water Resources, Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that CWCO is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks 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.

CWCO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.88, while GWRS has a forward P/E of 37.56. We also note that CWCO has a PEG ratio of 2.36. 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. GWRS currently has a PEG ratio of 2.50.

Another notable valuation metric for CWCO is its P/B ratio of 1.95. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, GWRS has a P/B of 5.49.

Based on these metrics and many more, CWCO holds a Value grade of B, while GWRS has a Value grade of D.

CWCO stands above GWRS thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that CWCO is the superior value option right now.

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