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Should Value Investors Buy Eastman Chemical (EMN) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Eastman Chemical (EMN - Free Report) . EMN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.55. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.70. Over the past year, EMN's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.09 and as low as 7.66, with a median of 10.44.

Investors should also recognize that EMN has a P/B ratio of 1.27. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. EMN's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.06. Within the past 52 weeks, EMN's P/B has been as high as 2.33 and as low as 1.14, with a median of 1.74.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Eastman Chemical is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, EMN feels like a great value stock at the moment.

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