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DVA vs. CHE: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare sector have probably already heard of DaVita HealthCare (DVA - Free Report) and Chemed (CHE - 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.

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, DaVita HealthCare has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Chemed has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that DVA'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 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 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.

DVA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.39, while CHE has a forward P/E of 29.81. We also note that DVA has a PEG ratio of 0.84. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. CHE currently has a PEG ratio of 2.95.

Another notable valuation metric for DVA is its P/B ratio of 7.37. 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, CHE has a P/B of 10.73.

These metrics, and several others, help DVA earn a Value grade of A, while CHE has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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