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PNTG or CHE: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare sector might want to consider either The Pennant Group, Inc. (PNTG - Free Report) or Chemed (CHE - 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Both The Pennant Group, Inc. and Chemed have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

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.

PNTG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.97, while CHE has a forward P/E of 24.35. We also note that PNTG has a PEG ratio of 1.38. 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 3.

Another notable valuation metric for PNTG is its P/B ratio of 3.01. 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, CHE has a P/B of 9.37.

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

Both PNTG and CHE are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that PNTG is the superior value option right now.


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