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PBH vs. A: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Medical - Products stocks have likely encountered both Prestige Consumer Healthcare (PBH - Free Report) and Agilent Technologies (A - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Prestige Consumer Healthcare is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Agilent Technologies has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that PBH's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

PBH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.89, while A has a forward P/E of 23.38. We also note that PBH has a PEG ratio of 2.13. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. A currently has a PEG ratio of 4.02.

Another notable valuation metric for PBH is its P/B ratio of 1.83. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, A has a P/B of 5.83.

Based on these metrics and many more, PBH holds a Value grade of B, while A has a Value grade of C.

PBH stands above A 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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