Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Products sector might want to consider either ICU Medical (ICUI) or Medline (MDLN). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Currently, ICU Medical has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Medline has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that ICUI's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. 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 highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.
ICUI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.90, while MDLN has a forward P/E of 24.08. We also note that ICUI has a PEG ratio of 1.54. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. MDLN currently has a PEG ratio of 5.19.
Another notable valuation metric for ICUI is its P/B ratio of 1.63. 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, MDLN has a P/B of 2.47.
These metrics, and several others, help ICUI earn a Value grade of B, while MDLN has been given a Value grade of C.
ICUI 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 ICUI is likely the superior value option right now.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
