Investors with an interest in Medical - Dental Supplies stocks have likely encountered both The Cooper Companies (COO) and Straumann Holding AG (SAUHY). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.
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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Currently, The Cooper Companies has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Straumann Holding AG has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that COO likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than SAUHY has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.
Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.
COO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.61, while SAUHY has a forward P/E of 29.20. We also note that COO has a PEG ratio of 1.62. 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. SAUHY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.43.
Another notable valuation metric for COO is its P/B ratio of 1.47. 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, SAUHY has a P/B of 7.13.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to COO's Value grade of B and SAUHY's Value grade of D.
COO is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that COO is likely the superior value option right now.
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The Cooper Companies, Inc. (COO): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).