ALGN vs. WST: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors interested in Medical - Dental Supplies stocks are likely familiar with Align Technology (ALGN) and 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.

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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Align Technology and West Pharmaceutical Services are both sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.

ALGN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.92, while WST has a forward P/E of 31.93. We also note that ALGN has a PEG ratio of 1.68. 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. WST currently has a PEG ratio of 2.71.

Another notable valuation metric for ALGN is its P/B ratio of 3.35. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, WST has a P/B of 5.7.

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

Both ALGN and WST are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that ALGN is the superior value option right now.

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

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