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AXTA vs. HWKN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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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 companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Axalta Coating Systems and Hawkins are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that AXTA has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

AXTA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.89, while HWKN has a forward P/E of 29.93. We also note that AXTA has a PEG ratio of 1.57. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. HWKN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.49.

Another notable valuation metric for AXTA is its P/B ratio of 2.83. 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. By comparison, HWKN has a P/B of 4.67.

Based on these metrics and many more, AXTA holds a Value grade of B, while HWKN has a Value grade of D.

AXTA 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 AXTA is likely the superior value option right now.

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