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CON or MEDP: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Medical Services stocks have likely encountered both Concentra Group (CON - Free Report) and Medpace (MEDP - 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.

Currently, Concentra Group has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Medpace has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that CON likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than MEDP has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.

CON currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.21, while MEDP has a forward P/E of 35.28. We also note that CON has a PEG ratio of 1.27. 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. MEDP currently has a PEG ratio of 2.76.

Another notable valuation metric for CON is its P/B ratio of 9.24. 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, MEDP has a P/B of 39.81.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to CON's Value grade of B and MEDP's Value grade of D.

CON 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 CON is likely the superior value option right now.

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