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AXTA or HWKN: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Chemical - Specialty stocks are likely familiar with Axalta Coating Systems (AXTA - Free Report) and Hawkins (HWKN - 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.

Axalta Coating Systems has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Hawkins has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) right now. This means that AXTA's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.

AXTA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.55, while HWKN has a forward P/E of 32.14. We also note that AXTA has a PEG ratio of 1.89. 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. HWKN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.68.

Another notable valuation metric for AXTA is its P/B ratio of 3.18. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, HWKN has a P/B of 4.95.

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

AXTA stands above HWKN thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that AXTA is the superior value option right now.

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