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PDCO or CNMD: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Dental Supplies sector might want to consider either Patterson Cos. (PDCO - Free Report) or Conmed (CNMD - Free Report) . 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Patterson Cos. has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Conmed has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that PDCO likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than CNMD has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

PDCO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.34, while CNMD has a forward P/E of 28.05. We also note that PDCO has a PEG ratio of 1.38. 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. CNMD currently has a PEG ratio of 2.28.

Another notable valuation metric for PDCO is its P/B ratio of 2.88. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, CNMD has a P/B of 3.68.

These metrics, and several others, help PDCO earn a Value grade of B, while CNMD has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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