Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Dental Supplies sector might want to consider either The Cooper Companies (COO) or West Pharmaceutical Services (WST). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Right now, both The Cooper Companies and West Pharmaceutical Services are sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.
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 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.
COO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.13, while WST has a forward P/E of 31.74. We also note that COO has a PEG ratio of 2.33. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. WST currently has a PEG ratio of 3.32.
Another notable valuation metric for COO is its P/B ratio of 1.97. 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, WST has a P/B of 5.52.
These metrics, and several others, help COO earn a Value grade of B, while WST has been given a Value grade of D.
Both COO and WST are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that COO is the superior value option right now.
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The Cooper Companies, Inc. (COO): Free Stock Analysis Report West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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