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NTR vs. SQM: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Fertilizers stocks have likely encountered both Nutrien (NTR - Free Report) and SQM (SQM - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Both Nutrien and SQM have a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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 highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

NTR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.10, while SQM has a forward P/E of 11.71. We also note that NTR has a PEG ratio of 0.64. 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. SQM currently has a PEG ratio of 0.66.

Another notable valuation metric for NTR is its P/B ratio of 1.96. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, SQM has a P/B of 7.58.

These metrics, and several others, help NTR earn a Value grade of B, while SQM has been given a Value grade of F.

Both NTR and SQM are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that NTR is the superior value option right now.


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Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (SQM) - free report >>

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