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Are These Medical Stocks a Great Value Stocks Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company value investors might notice is AMN Healthcare Services (AMN - Free Report) . AMN is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. AMN has a P/S ratio of 1.4. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.69.

Finally, investors should note that AMN has a P/CF ratio of 14.99. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. AMN's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 18.21. Over the past year, AMN's P/CF has been as high as 22.90 and as low as 14.02, with a median of 18.36.

If you're looking for another solid Medical Services value stock, take a look at Tivity Health . TVTY is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Shares of Tivity Health are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of 13.61 and a PEG ratio of 1.36 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 14.95 and 0.59, respectively.

Over the last 12 months, TVTY's P/E has been as high as 20.60, as low as 13.05, with a median of 15.01, and its PEG ratio has been as high as 2.06, as low as 1.30, with a median of 1.51.

Additionally, Tivity Health has a P/B ratio of 8.83 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 3.49. For TVTY, this valuation metric has been as high as 329.81, as low as 8.08, with a median of 35.05 over the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that AMN Healthcare Services and Tivity Health are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, AMN and TVTY sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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