Investors with an interest in Chemical - Diversified stocks have likely encountered both Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY) and Air Liquide (AIQUY). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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, Akzo Nobel NV is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Air Liquide has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that AKZOY 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.

AKZOY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.20, while AIQUY has a forward P/E of 28.37. We also note that AKZOY has a PEG ratio of 0.67. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. AIQUY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.95.

Another notable valuation metric for AKZOY is its P/B ratio of 2.16. 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 3.97.

Based on these metrics and many more, AKZOY holds a Value grade of A, while AIQUY has a Value grade of D.

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

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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