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

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Investors interested in stocks from the Chemical - Diversified sector have probably already heard of Olin (OLN - Free Report) and Air Liquide (AIQUY - 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 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.

Olin and Air Liquide are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that OLN likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than AIQUY has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

OLN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.02, while AIQUY has a forward P/E of 27.42. We also note that OLN has a PEG ratio of 0.13. 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. AIQUY currently has a PEG ratio of 4.31.

Another notable valuation metric for OLN is its P/B ratio of 3.59. 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, AIQUY has a P/B of 3.75.

These metrics, and several others, help OLN earn a Value grade of A, while AIQUY has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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