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PBH vs. BSX: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Medical - Products sector have probably already heard of Prestige Consumer Healthcare (PBH - Free Report) and Boston Scientific (BSX - 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Prestige Consumer Healthcare is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Boston Scientific has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that PBH likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than BSX has recently. But this is only part of the picture 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.

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.

PBH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.50, while BSX has a forward P/E of 28.92. We also note that PBH has a PEG ratio of 1.81. 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. BSX currently has a PEG ratio of 2.31.

Another notable valuation metric for PBH is its P/B ratio of 2.02. 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, BSX has a P/B of 4.96.

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

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


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