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DGX vs. AMED: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare stocks are likely familiar with Quest Diagnostics (DGX - Free Report) and Amedisys (AMED - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Quest Diagnostics and Amedisys are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that DGX is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

DGX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 20.24, while AMED has a forward P/E of 39.32. We also note that DGX has a PEG ratio of 2.65. 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. AMED currently has a PEG ratio of 2.81.

Another notable valuation metric for DGX is its P/B ratio of 2.67. 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, AMED has a P/B of 8.56.

These metrics, and several others, help DGX earn a Value grade of B, while AMED has been given a Value grade of D.

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


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Amedisys, Inc. (AMED) - free report >>

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