FMS vs. OFIX: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Instruments sector might want to consider either Fresenius (FMS) or Orthofix (OFIX). 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Fresenius is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Orthofix has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that FMS's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst 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.

FMS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.80, while OFIX has a forward P/E of 26.24. We also note that FMS has a PEG ratio of 0.61. 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. OFIX currently has a PEG ratio of 2.62.

Another notable valuation metric for FMS is its P/B ratio of 0.96. 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, OFIX has a P/B of 1.22.

These metrics, and several others, help FMS earn a Value grade of B, while OFIX has been given a Value grade of D.

FMS is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that FMS is likely the superior value option right now.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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