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HSIC vs. CNMD: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Medical - Dental Supplies stocks are likely familiar with Henry Schein (HSIC - Free Report) and Conmed (CNMD - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Henry Schein has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Conmed has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that HSIC is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

HSIC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.38, while CNMD has a forward P/E of 40.44. We also note that HSIC has a PEG ratio of 1.33. 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. CNMD currently has a PEG ratio of 4.07.

Another notable valuation metric for HSIC is its P/B ratio of 2.69. 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, CNMD has a P/B of 5.05.

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

HSIC sticks out from CNMD in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that HSIC is the better option right now.


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