AKZOY or AIQUY: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

AIQUY AKZOY

Investors interested in Chemical - Diversified stocks are likely familiar with Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY - Free Report) and Air Liquide (AIQUY - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Akzo Nobel NV has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Air Liquide has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that AKZOY's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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 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.

AKZOY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.41, while AIQUY has a forward P/E of 26.95. We also note that AKZOY has a PEG ratio of 0.70. 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. AIQUY currently has a PEG ratio of 3.24.

Another notable valuation metric for AKZOY is its P/B ratio of 2.88. 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, AIQUY has a P/B of 3.61.

Based on these metrics and many more, AKZOY holds a Value grade of A, while AIQUY has a Value grade of C.

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

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