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Are These Basic Materials Stocks a Great Value Stocks Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

AdvanSix (ASIX - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. ASIX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 7.89 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 17.53. Over the past year, ASIX's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.39 and as low as 7.89, with a median of 9.56.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. ASIX has a P/S ratio of 0.71. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.81.

Investors could also keep in mind Minerals Technologies (MTX - Free Report) , an Chemical - Specialty stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Minerals Technologies is currently trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 11.86 while its PEG ratio sits at 2.09. Both of the company's metrics compare favorably to its industry's average P/E of 17.53 and average PEG ratio of 0.72.

Over the last 12 months, MTX's P/E has been as high as 17.55, as low as 11.42, with a median of 14.62, and its PEG ratio has been as high as 3.82, as low as 2.06, with a median of 3.53.

Additionally, Minerals Technologies has a P/B ratio of 1.50 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 7.51. For MTX, this valuation metric has been as high as 1.97, as low as 1.40, with a median of 1.66 over the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in AdvanSix and Minerals Technologies strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, ASIX and MTX look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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