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

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Investors interested in Medical - Dental Supplies stocks are likely familiar with Cardinal Health (CAH - Free Report) and Align Technology (ALGN - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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.

Cardinal Health and Align Technology are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that CAH is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

CAH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.94, while ALGN has a forward P/E of 187.60. We also note that CAH has a PEG ratio of 1.64. 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. ALGN currently has a PEG ratio of 15.20.

Another notable valuation metric for CAH is its P/B ratio of 7.95. 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, ALGN has a P/B of 11.77.

These metrics, and several others, help CAH earn a Value grade of B, while ALGN has been given a Value grade of D.

CAH 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 CAH is likely the superior value option right now.


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