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PBH or BSX: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Medical - Products stocks are likely familiar with Prestige Consumer Healthcare (PBH - Free Report) and Boston Scientific (BSX - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Prestige Consumer Healthcare is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Boston Scientific has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that PBH's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

PBH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.26, while BSX has a forward P/E of 27.36. We also note that PBH has a PEG ratio of 1.66. 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. BSX currently has a PEG ratio of 2.18.

Another notable valuation metric for PBH is its P/B ratio of 1.85. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, BSX has a P/B of 4.20.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PBH's Value grade of B and BSX's Value grade of D.

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


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