Investors interested in stocks from the Chemical - Diversified sector have probably already heard of Johnson Matthey PLC (JMPLY) and Air Products and Chemicals (APD). But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 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.
Johnson Matthey PLC has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Air Products and Chemicals has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that JMPLY's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst 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.
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.
JMPLY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.51, while APD has a forward P/E of 19.76. We also note that JMPLY has a PEG ratio of 3.03. 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. APD currently has a PEG ratio of 5.30.
Another notable valuation metric for JMPLY is its P/B ratio of 1.64. 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, APD has a P/B of 3.19.
These metrics, and several others, help JMPLY earn a Value grade of A, while APD has been given a Value grade of C.
JMPLY stands above APD thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that JMPLY is the superior value option right now.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
