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

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Investors interested in Medical Services stocks are likely familiar with Bausch + Lomb (BLCO - Free Report) and HealthEquity (HQY - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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.

Bausch + Lomb has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while HealthEquity has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that BLCO has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.

BLCO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.20, while HQY has a forward P/E of 21.96. We also note that BLCO has a PEG ratio of 0.53. 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 1.36.

Another notable valuation metric for BLCO is its P/B ratio of 1.1. 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, HQY has a P/B of 4.31.

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

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

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