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SGRY or MEDP: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Medical Services sector might want to consider either Surgery Partners (SGRY - Free Report) or Medpace (MEDP - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Surgery Partners and Medpace are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that SGRY has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

SGRY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 28.37, while MEDP has a forward P/E of 32.71. We also note that SGRY has a PEG ratio of 1.89. 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. MEDP currently has a PEG ratio of 1.98.

Another notable valuation metric for SGRY is its P/B ratio of 1.27. 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, MEDP has a P/B of 15.53.

Based on these metrics and many more, SGRY holds a Value grade of A, while MEDP has a Value grade of C.

SGRY 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 SGRY is likely the superior value option right now.


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Surgery Partners, Inc. (SGRY) - free report >>

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