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ICL or NGVT: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right 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 Ingevity Corporation (NGVT - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Israel Chemicals and Ingevity Corporation are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that ICL's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst 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 Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

ICL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.54, while NGVT has a forward P/E of 19.24. We also note that ICL has a PEG ratio of 1.32. 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. NGVT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.60.

Another notable valuation metric for ICL is its P/B ratio of 1.71. 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, NGVT has a P/B of 10.73.

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

ICL 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 ICL is likely the superior value option right now.


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