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LYB vs. ALB: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Chemical - Diversified sector might want to consider either LyondellBasell (LYB - Free Report) or Albemarle (ALB - 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.

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 is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Right now, LyondellBasell is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Albemarle has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that LYB likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ALB has recently. 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.

LYB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.45, while ALB has a forward P/E of 24.58. We also note that LYB has a PEG ratio of 0.29. 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. ALB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.54.

Another notable valuation metric for LYB is its P/B ratio of 2.28. 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, ALB has a P/B of 3.09.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to LYB's Value grade of A and ALB's Value grade of D.

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

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