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Investors interested in stocks from the Chemical - Specialty sector have probably already heard of Celanese (CE) and Blachem (BCPC). 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Celanese has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Blachem has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that CE has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

CE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.63, while BCPC has a forward P/E of 39.68. We also note that CE has a PEG ratio of 4.11. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. BCPC currently has a PEG ratio of 4.96.

Another notable valuation metric for CE is its P/B ratio of 2.37. 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, BCPC has a P/B of 4.56.

Based on these metrics and many more, CE holds a Value grade of B, while BCPC has a Value grade of F.

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

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.