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LYB or APD: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Chemical - Diversified sector might want to consider either LyondellBasell (LYB - Free Report) or Air Products and Chemicals (APD - 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.

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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, LyondellBasell is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Air Products and Chemicals has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that LYB has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

LYB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.58, while APD has a forward P/E of 30.50. We also note that LYB has a PEG ratio of 3.01. 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. APD currently has a PEG ratio of 3.48.

Another notable valuation metric for LYB is its P/B ratio of 3.61. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, APD has a P/B of 5.52.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to LYB's Value grade of A and APD's Value grade of D.

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


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Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD) - free report >>

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