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PGNY or CRL: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Medical Services stocks are likely familiar with Progyny (PGNY - Free Report) and Charles River Laboratories (CRL - 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.

Progyny and Charles River Laboratories are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that PGNY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than CRL has recently. 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 Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

PGNY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.40, while CRL has a forward P/E of 26.89. We also note that PGNY has a PEG ratio of 1.07. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. CRL currently has a PEG ratio of 2.86.

Another notable valuation metric for PGNY is its P/B ratio of 4.48. 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, CRL has a P/B of 5.12.

Based on these metrics and many more, PGNY holds a Value grade of B, while CRL has a Value grade of D.

PGNY has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than CRL, so it seems like value investors will conclude that PGNY is the superior option right now.

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