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ICL vs. NVZMY: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Chemical - Specialty sector might want to consider either Israel Chemicals (ICL - Free Report) or Novozymes AS (NVZMY - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Israel Chemicals has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Novozymes AS has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that ICL 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.

ICL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.60, while NVZMY has a forward P/E of 42.05. We also note that ICL has a PEG ratio of 0.68. 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. NVZMY currently has a PEG ratio of 9.41.

Another notable valuation metric for ICL is its P/B ratio of 2.57. 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, NVZMY has a P/B of 9.66.

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

ICL has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than NVZMY, so it seems like value investors will conclude that ICL is the superior option right now.


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