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MMSI vs. CNMD: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Medical - Dental Supplies stocks have likely encountered both Merit Medical (MMSI - Free Report) and Conmed (CNMD - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Merit Medical has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Conmed has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that MMSI likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than CNMD has recently. 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.

MMSI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 27.30, while CNMD has a forward P/E of 27.67. We also note that MMSI has a PEG ratio of 2.48. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. CNMD currently has a PEG ratio of 2.68.

Another notable valuation metric for MMSI is its P/B ratio of 3.64. 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 3.79.

Based on these metrics and many more, MMSI holds a Value grade of B, while CNMD has a Value grade of C.

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


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