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XRAY or COO: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Medical - Dental Supplies sector have probably already heard of Dentsply International (XRAY - Free Report) and The Cooper Companies (COO - 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.

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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Dentsply International and The Cooper Companies are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

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.

XRAY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.13, while COO has a forward P/E of 29.90. We also note that XRAY has a PEG ratio of 2.31. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. COO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.72.

Another notable valuation metric for XRAY is its P/B ratio of 2.36. 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, COO has a P/B of 2.57.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to XRAY's Value grade of B and COO's Value grade of C.

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


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DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) - free report >>

The Cooper Companies, Inc. (COO) - free report >>

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