Investors interested in stocks from the Medical - Products sector have probably already heard of Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Stryker (SYK). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.
Smith & Nephew has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Stryker has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that SNN likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than SYK has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.
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 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.
SNN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.55, while SYK has a forward P/E of 27.91. We also note that SNN has a PEG ratio of 1.02. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. SYK currently has a PEG ratio of 2.71.
Another notable valuation metric for SNN is its P/B ratio of 2.92. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, SYK has a P/B of 6.8.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to SNN's Value grade of B and SYK's Value grade of D.
SNN has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than SYK, so it seems like value investors will conclude that SNN is the superior option right now.
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Smith & Nephew SNATS, Inc. (SNN): Free Stock Analysis Report Stryker Corporation (SYK): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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