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CE vs. ECL: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Chemical - Specialty stocks are likely familiar with Celanese (CE - Free Report) and Ecolab (ECL - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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.

Right now, Celanese is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Ecolab has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that CE's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.

CE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.86, while ECL has a forward P/E of 38.93. We also note that CE has a PEG ratio of 2.19. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. ECL currently has a PEG ratio of 3.58.

Another notable valuation metric for CE is its P/B ratio of 4.95. 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, ECL has a P/B of 9.65.

These metrics, and several others, help CE earn a Value grade of B, while ECL has been given a Value grade of D.

CE is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that CE is likely the superior value option right now.


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