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UTHR vs. ESALY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Medical - Drugs sector have probably already heard of United Therapeutics (UTHR - Free Report) and Eisai Co. . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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 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.

Currently, United Therapeutics has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Eisai Co. has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that UTHR has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.

UTHR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.16, while ESALY has a forward P/E of 41.87. We also note that UTHR has a PEG ratio of 1.79. 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. ESALY currently has a PEG ratio of 3.19.

Another notable valuation metric for UTHR is its P/B ratio of 2.68. 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, ESALY has a P/B of 3.06.

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

UTHR stands above ESALY thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that UTHR is the superior value option right now.


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