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OLN or APD: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right 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 Products and Chemicals (APD - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Olin is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Air Products and Chemicals has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that OLN likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than APD has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their 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 6.80, while APD has a forward P/E of 27.84. We also note that OLN has a PEG ratio of 0.12. 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. APD currently has a PEG ratio of 2.63.

Another notable valuation metric for OLN is its P/B ratio of 3.92. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, APD has a P/B of 4.61.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to OLN's Value grade of A and APD's Value grade of C.

OLN stands above APD thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that OLN is the superior value option right now.


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Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD) - free report >>

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