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XRAY vs. ALGN: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Medical - Dental Supplies stocks are likely familiar with Dentsply International (XRAY - Free Report) and Align Technology (ALGN - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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.

Dentsply International has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Align Technology has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that XRAY has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

XRAY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 24.37, while ALGN has a forward P/E of 65.62. We also note that XRAY has a PEG ratio of 1.20. 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. ALGN currently has a PEG ratio of 3.15.

Another notable valuation metric for XRAY is its P/B ratio of 2.91. 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, ALGN has a P/B of 14.73.

Based on these metrics and many more, XRAY holds a Value grade of B, while ALGN has a Value grade of D.

XRAY has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than ALGN, so it seems like value investors will conclude that XRAY is the superior option right now.


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Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN) - free report >>

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) - free report >>

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