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MMSI or WST: 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 Merit Medical (MMSI - Free Report) and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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.

Merit Medical has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while West Pharmaceutical Services has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that MMSI has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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 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.

MMSI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 25.90, while WST has a forward P/E of 44.38. We also note that MMSI has a PEG ratio of 2.25. 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. WST currently has a PEG ratio of 8.88.

Another notable valuation metric for MMSI is its P/B ratio of 3.60. 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, WST has a P/B of 9.18.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to MMSI's Value grade of B and WST's Value grade of D.

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


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Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (MMSI) - free report >>

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