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ASRT vs. ZTS: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Medical - Drugs stocks are likely familiar with Assertio (ASRT - Free Report) and Zoetis (ZTS - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Assertio has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Zoetis has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that ASRT's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst 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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

ASRT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.26, while ZTS has a forward P/E of 27.14. We also note that ASRT has a PEG ratio of 0.53. 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. ZTS currently has a PEG ratio of 2.37.

Another notable valuation metric for ASRT is its P/B ratio of 0.96. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ZTS has a P/B of 13.36.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ASRT's Value grade of A and ZTS's Value grade of C.

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


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