PAHC vs. SYK: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Zacks Zacks
Open on Zacks
PAHC vs. SYK: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Products sector might want to consider either Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) or Stryker (SYK). 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.

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.

Phibro Animal Health has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Stryker has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that PAHC likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than SYK has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

PAHC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.28, while SYK has a forward P/E of 19.58. We also note that PAHC has a PEG ratio of 0.43. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. SYK currently has a PEG ratio of 1.85.

Another notable valuation metric for PAHC is its P/B ratio of 3.2. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, SYK has a P/B of 4.89.

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

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

7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days

Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."

Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.9% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. 

See them now >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report


 
Phibro Animal Health Corporation (PAHC): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Stryker Corporation (SYK): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research