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TROX or FMC: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Chemical - Diversified stocks have likely encountered both Tronox (TROX - Free Report) and FMC (FMC - 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.

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.

Right now, Tronox is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while FMC has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that TROX likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than FMC has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

TROX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.02, while FMC has a forward P/E of 15.21. We also note that TROX has a PEG ratio of 0.37. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. FMC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.52.

Another notable valuation metric for TROX is its P/B ratio of 1.09. 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, FMC has a P/B of 4.58.

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

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


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