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LH vs. COO: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Medical - Dental Supplies stocks have likely encountered both Labcorp (LH - Free Report) and The Cooper Companies (COO - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Labcorp and The Cooper Companies are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that LH likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than COO has recently. 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.

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.

LH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.61, while COO has a forward P/E of 25.90. We also note that LH has a PEG ratio of 1.52. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. COO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.30.

Another notable valuation metric for LH is its P/B ratio of 2.18. 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, COO has a P/B of 2.34.

These metrics, and several others, help LH earn a Value grade of A, while COO has been given a Value grade of C.

LH is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that LH is likely the superior value option right now.


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