LH vs. CRL: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors looking for stocks in the Medical Services sector might want to consider either Labcorp Holdings (LH) or Charles River Laboratories (CRL). 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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Right now, Labcorp Holdings is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Charles River Laboratories has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that LH likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than CRL has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

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.

LH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.78, while CRL has a forward P/E of 16.99. We also note that LH has a PEG ratio of 1.86. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. CRL currently has a PEG ratio of 2.14.

Another notable valuation metric for LH is its P/B ratio of 2.51. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, CRL has a P/B of 3.07.

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

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

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

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