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PBH or SYK: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Medical - Products stocks are likely familiar with Prestige Consumer Healthcare (PBH - Free Report) and Stryker (SYK - 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Prestige Consumer Healthcare has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Stryker has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that PBH has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

PBH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.75, while SYK has a forward P/E of 29.98. We also note that PBH has a PEG ratio of 2.09. 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. SYK currently has a PEG ratio of 2.78.

Another notable valuation metric for PBH is its P/B ratio of 2.19. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, SYK has a P/B of 6.93.

These metrics, and several others, help PBH earn a Value grade of B, while SYK has been given a Value grade of C.

PBH has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than SYK, so it seems like value investors will conclude that PBH is the superior option right now.


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