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BASFY vs. FMC: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Chemical - Diversified sector have probably already heard of BASF SE (BASFY - Free Report) and FMC (FMC - 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.

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.

Right now, BASF SE is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while FMC has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that BASFY is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture 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.

BASFY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.89, while FMC has a forward P/E of 15.66. We also note that BASFY has a PEG ratio of 1.04. 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. FMC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.17.

Another notable valuation metric for BASFY is its P/B ratio of 1.19. 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, FMC has a P/B of 1.70.

Based on these metrics and many more, BASFY holds a Value grade of A, while FMC has a Value grade of C.

BASFY sticks out from FMC in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that BASFY is the better option right now.


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