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PPG vs. ECL: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Chemical - Specialty stocks are likely familiar with PPG Industries (PPG - Free Report) and Ecolab (ECL - Free Report) . 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.

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, PPG Industries is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Ecolab has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that PPG is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

PPG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 20.70, while ECL has a forward P/E of 37.54. We also note that PPG has a PEG ratio of 1.17. 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. ECL currently has a PEG ratio of 2.96.

Another notable valuation metric for PPG is its P/B ratio of 4.91. 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, ECL has a P/B of 7.25.

Based on these metrics and many more, PPG holds a Value grade of B, while ECL has a Value grade of C.

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


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