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OPCH vs. ASTH: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare sector have probably already heard of Option Care (OPCH - Free Report) and Astrana Health, Inc. (ASTH - 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.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Option Care and Astrana Health, Inc. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. This means that OPCH's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.

OPCH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 24.81, while ASTH has a forward P/E of 36.89. We also note that OPCH has a PEG ratio of 1.43. 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. ASTH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.86.

Another notable valuation metric for OPCH is its P/B ratio of 3.61. 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, ASTH has a P/B of 4.47.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to OPCH's Value grade of A and ASTH's Value grade of C.

OPCH stands above ASTH thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that OPCH is the superior value option right now.


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