BASFY or APD: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors with an interest in Chemical - Diversified stocks have likely encountered both BASF SE (BASFY) and Air Products and Chemicals (APD). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, both BASF SE and Air Products and Chemicals are holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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 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.

BASFY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 22.73, while APD has a forward P/E of 23.19. We also note that BASFY has a PEG ratio of 1.58. 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 2.84.

Another notable valuation metric for BASFY is its P/B ratio of 1.46. 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 3.77.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to BASFY's Value grade of A and APD's Value grade of D.

Both BASFY and APD are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that BASFY is the superior value option right now.

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

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