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ELAN vs. USPH: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare sector have probably already heard of Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (ELAN - Free Report) and U.S. Physical Therapy (USPH - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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 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.

Right now, Elanco Animal Health Incorporated is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while U.S. Physical Therapy has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that ELAN has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

ELAN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 24.28, while USPH has a forward P/E of 34.56. We also note that ELAN has a PEG ratio of 3.97. 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. USPH currently has a PEG ratio of 4.52.

Another notable valuation metric for ELAN is its P/B ratio of 1.59. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, USPH has a P/B of 2.73.

These metrics, and several others, help ELAN earn a Value grade of B, while USPH has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (USPH) - free report >>

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