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BASFY or PPG: 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 BASF SE (BASFY - Free Report) and PPG Industries (PPG - 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.

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.

Currently, BASF SE has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while PPG Industries has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that BASFY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than PPG has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

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.

BASFY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.53, while PPG has a forward P/E of 16.56. We also note that BASFY has a PEG ratio of 0.47. 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. PPG currently has a PEG ratio of 1.38.

Another notable valuation metric for BASFY is its P/B ratio of 0.84. 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, PPG has a P/B of 4.40.

Based on these metrics and many more, BASFY holds a Value grade of A, while PPG has a Value grade of C.

BASFY 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 BASFY is likely the superior value option right now.


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