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SYNH vs. FCHS: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Medical Services sector might want to consider either Syneos Health or First Choice Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (FCHS - 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Syneos Health and First Choice Healthcare Solutions, Inc. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that SYNH has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

SYNH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.78, while FCHS has a forward P/E of 18.91. We also note that SYNH has a PEG ratio of 0.96. 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. FCHS currently has a PEG ratio of 1.26.

Another notable valuation metric for SYNH is its P/B ratio of 1.65. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, FCHS has a P/B of 2.79.

Based on these metrics and many more, SYNH holds a Value grade of B, while FCHS has a Value grade of C.

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


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