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FUL vs. LTHM: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Chemical - Specialty stocks have likely encountered both H. B. Fuller (FUL - Free Report) and Livent . 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.

Currently, H. B. Fuller has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Livent has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that FUL likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than LTHM has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

FUL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.03, while LTHM has a forward P/E of 153.73. We also note that FUL has a PEG ratio of 2.12. 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. LTHM currently has a PEG ratio of 3.54.

Another notable valuation metric for FUL is its P/B ratio of 2.31. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, LTHM has a P/B of 4.37.

These metrics, and several others, help FUL earn a Value grade of B, while LTHM has been given a Value grade of F.

FUL stands above LTHM thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that FUL is the superior value option right now.


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