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MDT or ESLOY: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Products sector might want to consider either Medtronic (MDT - Free Report) or EssilorLuxottica Unsponsored ADR (ESLOY - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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.

Medtronic and EssilorLuxottica Unsponsored ADR are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that MDT 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 are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.

MDT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.25, while ESLOY has a forward P/E of 24.74. We also note that MDT has a PEG ratio of 2.56. 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. ESLOY currently has a PEG ratio of 3.05.

Another notable valuation metric for MDT is its P/B ratio of 1.89. 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, ESLOY has a P/B of 1.91.

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

MDT sticks out from ESLOY in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that MDT is the better option right now.


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