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SOLV vs. HQY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Medical Services sector have probably already heard of Solventum (SOLV - Free Report) and HealthEquity (HQY - 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.

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 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.

Solventum and HealthEquity are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that SOLV is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture 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 grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

SOLV currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.49, while HQY has a forward P/E of 17.66. We also note that SOLV has a PEG ratio of 1.12. 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. HQY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.23.

Another notable valuation metric for SOLV is its P/B ratio of 2.32. 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, HQY has a P/B of 3.29.

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

SOLV sticks out from HQY in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that SOLV is the better option right now.

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