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HELE vs. NUS: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Cosmetics stocks have likely encountered both Helen of Troy (HELE - Free Report) and Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS - 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.

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.

Helen of Troy has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Nu Skin Enterprises has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that HELE is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture 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.

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.

HELE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.40, while NUS has a forward P/E of 23.55. We also note that HELE has a PEG ratio of 2.65. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. NUS currently has a PEG ratio of 2.82.

Another notable valuation metric for HELE is its P/B ratio of 2.63. 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, NUS has a P/B of 5.82.

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

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


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