Investors looking for stocks in the Medical Services sector might want to consider either Concentra Group (CON) or Medpace (MEDP). 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.
Right now, Concentra Group is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Medpace has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that CON likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than MEDP has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.
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.
CON currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.80, while MEDP has a forward P/E of 27.88. We also note that CON has a PEG ratio of 1.24. 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. MEDP currently has a PEG ratio of 2.41.
Another notable valuation metric for CON is its P/B ratio of 8.1. 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, MEDP has a P/B of 22.68.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to CON's Value grade of B and MEDP's Value grade of D.
CON 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 CON is likely the superior value option right now.
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Concentra Group Holdings Parent, Inc. (CON): Free Stock Analysis Report
Medpace Holdings, Inc. (MEDP): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).