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OLN vs. ALB: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Chemical - Diversified stocks are likely familiar with Olin (OLN - Free Report) and Albemarle (ALB - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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.

Olin has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Albemarle has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that OLN likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ALB has recently. 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.

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.

OLN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 34.24, while ALB has a forward P/E of 43.92. We also note that OLN has a PEG ratio of 1. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. ALB currently has a PEG ratio of 3.70.

Another notable valuation metric for OLN is its P/B ratio of 2.66. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, ALB has a P/B of 4.31.

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

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


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