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AVNT or AIQUY: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Chemical - Diversified sector might want to consider either Avient (AVNT - Free Report) or Air Liquide (AIQUY - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Avient has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Air Liquide has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that AVNT is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

AVNT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.74, while AIQUY has a forward P/E of 26.03. We also note that AVNT has a PEG ratio of 1.18. 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. AIQUY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.62.

Another notable valuation metric for AVNT is its P/B ratio of 1.53. 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, AIQUY has a P/B of 3.85.

These metrics, and several others, help AVNT earn a Value grade of B, while AIQUY has been given a Value grade of D.

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

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