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WLKP or ECL: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
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Investors interested in stocks from the Chemical - Specialty sector have probably already heard of Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP - Free Report) and Ecolab (ECL - 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.
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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.
Currently, Westlake Chemical Partners has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Ecolab 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 WLKP 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.
Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.
WLKP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.93, while ECL has a forward P/E of 56.14. We also note that WLKP has a PEG ratio of 3.33. 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. ECL currently has a PEG ratio of 5.31.
Another notable valuation metric for WLKP is its P/B ratio of 0.81. 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, ECL has a P/B of 10.66.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to WLKP's Value grade of A and ECL's Value grade of D.
WLKP has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than ECL, so it seems like value investors will conclude that WLKP is the superior option right now.
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WLKP or ECL: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
Investors interested in stocks from the Chemical - Specialty sector have probably already heard of Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP - Free Report) and Ecolab (ECL - 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.
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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.
Currently, Westlake Chemical Partners has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Ecolab 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 WLKP 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.
Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.
WLKP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.93, while ECL has a forward P/E of 56.14. We also note that WLKP has a PEG ratio of 3.33. 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. ECL currently has a PEG ratio of 5.31.
Another notable valuation metric for WLKP is its P/B ratio of 0.81. 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, ECL has a P/B of 10.66.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to WLKP's Value grade of A and ECL's Value grade of D.
WLKP has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than ECL, so it seems like value investors will conclude that WLKP is the superior option right now.