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NVST or BSX: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Medical - Products stocks have likely encountered both Envista (NVST - Free Report) and Boston Scientific (BSX - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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 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.

Envista has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Boston Scientific has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that NVST has an improving earnings 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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

NVST currently has a forward P/E ratio of 20.84, while BSX has a forward P/E of 27.79. We also note that NVST has a PEG ratio of 0.76. 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. BSX currently has a PEG ratio of 2.95.

Another notable valuation metric for NVST is its P/B ratio of 1.70. 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, BSX has a P/B of 4.03.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to NVST's Value grade of B and BSX's Value grade of C.

NVST 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 NVST is likely the superior value option right now.


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