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Is Orion Engineered Carbons (OEC) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is Orion Engineered Carbons (OEC - Free Report) . OEC is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.36. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 22.13. Over the past 52 weeks, OEC's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.94 and as low as 4.20, with a median of 11.92.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. OEC has a P/S ratio of 0.87. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.14.

Finally, we should also recognize that OEC has a P/CF ratio of 8.25. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. OEC's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 11.73. Within the past 12 months, OEC's P/CF has been as high as 9.13 and as low as 2.11, with a median of 5.36.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Orion Engineered Carbons is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, OEC sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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