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AVNT vs. AIQUY: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy 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 is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 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, Avient is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Air Liquide has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that AVNT likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than AIQUY has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

AVNT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.81, while AIQUY has a forward P/E of 28.61. We also note that AVNT has a PEG ratio of 1.18. 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. AIQUY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.96.

Another notable valuation metric for AVNT is its P/B ratio of 1.54. 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, AIQUY has a P/B of 3.93.

Based on these metrics and many more, AVNT holds a Value grade of B, while AIQUY has a Value grade of F.

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

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