Yahoo Finance AVNT or APD: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
Investors interested in stocks from the Chemical - Diversified sector have probably already heard of Avient (AVNT) and Air Products and Chemicals (APD). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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 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 Products and Chemicals 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. 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.
Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.
AVNT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.49, while APD has a forward P/E of 18.39. We also note that AVNT has a PEG ratio of 0.92. 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. APD currently has a PEG ratio of 2.50.
Another notable valuation metric for AVNT is its P/B ratio of 1.63. 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, APD has a P/B of 3.14.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AVNT's Value grade of B and APD's Value grade of D.
AVNT 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 AVNT is likely the superior value option right now.
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Avient Corporation (AVNT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
