BDX vs. SAUHY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors interested in Medical - Dental Supplies stocks are likely familiar with Becton Dickinson (BDX) and Straumann Holding AG (SAUHY). 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Becton Dickinson has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Straumann Holding AG has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that BDX's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

BDX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.70, while SAUHY has a forward P/E of 27.58. We also note that BDX has a PEG ratio of 2.25. 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. SAUHY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.69.

Another notable valuation metric for BDX is its P/B ratio of 2.3. 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, SAUHY has a P/B of 7.86.

Based on these metrics and many more, BDX holds a Value grade of B, while SAUHY has a Value grade of D.

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

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

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