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ASTH or CHE: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare sector might want to consider either Astrana Health, Inc. (ASTH - Free Report) or Chemed (CHE - 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.

Astrana Health, Inc. and Chemed are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that ASTH has an improving earnings outlook. 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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

ASTH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.66, while CHE has a forward P/E of 20.47. We also note that ASTH has a PEG ratio of 0.91. 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. CHE currently has a PEG ratio of 2.09.

Another notable valuation metric for ASTH is its P/B ratio of 1.85. 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, CHE has a P/B of 5.84.

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

ASTH 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 ASTH is likely the superior value option right now.


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