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

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company to watch right now is Orion Engineered Carbons (OEC - Free Report) . OEC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 7.79 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 10.82. OEC's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.05 and as low as 6.20, with a median of 8.36, all within the past year.

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 0.62. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.84.

Finally, we should also recognize that OEC has a P/CF ratio of 4.05. 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 current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 6.94. Over the past year, OEC's P/CF has been as high as 10.74 and as low as 3.53, with a median of 4.58.

If you're looking for another solid Chemical - Diversified value stock, take a look at Univar Solutions . UNVR is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Shares of Univar Solutions currently holds a Forward P/E ratio of 10.33, and its PEG ratio is 0.71. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 10.82 and 0.66.

UNVR's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.33 and as low as 10.33, with a median of 13.57. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 2.14, as low as 0.71, with a median of 1.03.

Univar Solutions sports a P/B ratio of 2.05 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.88. In the past 52 weeks, UNVR's P/B has been as high as 2.53, as low as 1.80, with a median of 2.13.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Orion Engineered Carbons and Univar Solutions strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, OEC and UNVR look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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