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CVS vs. DHR: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Medical Services stocks have likely encountered both CVS Health (CVS - Free Report) and Danaher (DHR - 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.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

CVS Health and Danaher are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that CVS's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.

CVS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.54, while DHR has a forward P/E of 26.32. We also note that CVS has a PEG ratio of 0.92. 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. DHR currently has a PEG ratio of 2.84.

Another notable valuation metric for CVS is its P/B ratio of 1.05. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, DHR has a P/B of 2.85.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to CVS's Value grade of A and DHR's Value grade of D.

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


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