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MOS vs. NTR: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Fertilizers sector have probably already heard of Mosaic (MOS - Free Report) and Nutrien (NTR - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive 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.

Both Mosaic and Nutrien have a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

MOS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.94, while NTR has a forward P/E of 13.24. We also note that MOS has a PEG ratio of 0.99. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. NTR currently has a PEG ratio of 1.66.

Another notable valuation metric for MOS is its P/B ratio of 1.11. 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, NTR has a P/B of 1.46.

These metrics, and several others, help MOS earn a Value grade of A, while NTR has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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